Agenda item

(The Director of Housing) To consider the attached report (CHB-007-2013/14).

The Director of Housing presented a report to the Cabinet Committee regarding a proposed strategic approach to the prioritisation of locations for potential developments. He advised that the Cabinet had previously agreed a list of potential development sites for which the Council’s Development Agent would be asked to undertake detailed development and financial appraisals. Now that the Development Agent had started to undertake development appraisals for each site, there was a need to agree a strategic approach to the prioritisation of potential sites for development.

A general strategic approach for the prioritisation of potential sites was proposed for adoption, which suggested that locations within the District be grouped together into two Groups, having regard to the Primary List of Sites previously agreed by the Cabinet and whether the locations had the capacity to deliver more or less than 10 new homes, and that development packages/phases be formulated each year, on a rotational basis in an agreed Priority Order, based on the number of applicants living within each location.

Since there were various ways in which the number of potential sites within a location could increase and, as the Development Programme progressed, the number of new homes that could be provided at locations within the groups was likely to reduce – which could have an effect on the Priority Orders within both groups – it was proposed that a review of the priority orders within the two groups be undertaken in three years’ time, having regard to the same proposed strategic approach. However, on discussion, the Cabinet Committee concluded that such reviews should be undertaken annually.

The Cabinet Committee requested that, for when the Cabinet considers its recommendations, information about individual housing applicants’ areas of preference for rehousing be included in the group information in addition to the number of applicants living in each area.

Recommended:

(1)        That the following general strategic approach be adopted for the prioritisation of potential sites taken forward for development under the Council’s Housebuilding Programme:

(a)        Generally, over a period of time, development sites be spread around the towns/villages where sites are located, on a rotational basis, so that all locations have the benefit of affordable housing being provided in their area;

(b)        Priority for the development of potential sites be given to areas in which the highest number of housing applicants live;

(c)        Towns/villages with sites that could potentially deliver the greatest number of new properties be prioritised in preference to locations where less properties could be delivered; and

(d)        If possible, development packages/phases generally comprise sites within the same town/village, in order to reduce the contractor’s site set-up costs;

(2)        That, taking account of the strategic approach set out in (1) above, locations be grouped together into the following two Groups and the Priority Orders shown (Note: applicants can express preferences for more than one area):

 (*) = Including the Year 1 sites                                (#) = Excluding the sites at The Broadway

(3)        That development packages/phases be formulated each year, on a rotational basis – in the Priority Order shown in Group A above – until the capacity for the potential number of homes in a location reduces to less than 10, at which point the location be moved into GroupbB;

(4)        That, where less than 20 homes can be provided within a development package/phase in one ofthe locations within Group A above, one or more sites within Group B also be included within the development package/phase, on a rotational basis – in the Priority Order shown in Group B above – to comprise a package/phase of between 20 and 25 homes; and

(5)        That an annual review of the priority orders within Groups A and B in (2) above be undertaken by the Cabinet Committee having regard to the same strategic approach set-out in (1) above. 

Reasons for Decision:

To achieve a strategic approach to the prioritisation of potential sites for development.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

(a)        Not to have a strategic approach – this would mean that a high profile, high cost Council Programme would not have a strategic direction; and

(b)        To adopt a different approach to the prioritisation of sites.