Issue - meetings

The Assistant Director of Housing & Community Safety to present a report which reviews the council’s HRA Business Plan, financial projections and AMS, and asks Executive to approve a revised Plan, projections and Strategy.

Resolved:  (i)      That the revised HRA Business Plan (Annex A), financial projections (Annex B) and Asset Management Strategy (Annex C) be approved.

                   (ii)      That it be noted that a separate ‘operating strategy’, outlining what Housing Services do, how they will do it, what they want to achieve and the financial framework for this, will be developed as part of their current change management plan.

Reason:     So that the council has an updated business plan, asset management strategy for its housing stock and ‘operational strategy’ for the services it provides, all of which will be published.

The Assistant Director of Housing & Community Safety presented a report which sought approval for a revised HRA Business Plan (the Plan), financial projections and AMS.  These documents were attached to the report as Annexes A, B and C respectively.

The Plan set out the context for the income and expenditure decisions and the impact of those decisions on the HRA over a 30 year period, focusing on the first five years.  The AMS set out the context for management of the assets within the HRA, these being the homes owned by the council and the land they sat on. The revisions had included paring down the documents to broad themes, with links to more detailed information and initiatives. The main priorities were, in brief, to increase the stock of housing owned by the HRA, develop new homes built to passivhaus standards, improve the quality and reduce the carbon footprint of existing homes, and maintain / improve wellbeing outcomes for residents.  The report took into account budget proposals to be considered as part of the overall budget decision making process.

In response to comments made under Public Participation, officers indicated that:

·        The Plan aimed to deliver 600 homes of mixed tenure, with a percentage of affordable housing double that required for private developments;

·        Though not part of this report, the disposal of care homes reflected the shift towards support for independent living; the provision of new residential care places at Haxby Hall and Burnholme had been reported to previous meetings. 

The Executive Member for Housing & Community Safety commended the Plan to Members and thanked officers for their work. 

Resolved:  (i)      That the revised HRA Business Plan (Annex A), financial projections (Annex B) and Asset Management Strategy (Annex C) be approved.

                   (ii)      That it be noted that a separate ‘operating strategy’, outlining what Housing Services do, how they will do it, what they want to achieve and the financial framework for this, will be developed as part of their current change management plan.

Reason:     So that the council has an updated business plan, asset management strategy for its housing stock and ‘operational strategy’ for the services it provides, all of which will be published.