Issue - meetings

The Director of Housing, Economy & Regeneration to present a report which provides an update on the progress of the Housing Delivery Programme, seeks approval to proceed to construction on the Duncombe Barracks and Burnholme sites and deliver further affordable homes, and presents proposals for the disposal of 17-21 Piccadilly for affordable housing.

[See also under Part B]

Resolved:  (i)      That approval be given to enter into a construction contract with Caddicks as preferred supplier for development of the Duncombe Barracks and Burnholme sites.

                   (ii)      That an application be made for further Homes England Shared Ownership grant funding for development of the Duncombe Barracks and Burnholme sites.

                   (iii)     That the level of affordable housing on the Duncombe Barracks and Burnholme sites be increased to 60% in line with the revised business case in exempt Annex 2.

                   (iv)    That approval be given to re-procure multidisciplinary design services for all future Housing Delivery Programme sites.

                   (v)     That an application be made to Homes England to extend the second hand shared ownership programme by a further 15 homes to support families into shared ownership via this route and, if funding is forthcoming, that a net HRA capital budget of £720k be agreed for the delivery of these schemes, to be funded from the Local Authority Homes (Phase 2) budget.

                   (vi)    That the future use of the former Askham Bar Park & Ride site for housing be re-affirmed and that officers be asked to undertake further work to explore different options for delivering a scheme on the site that would deliver a minimum 40% of affordable housing and deliver zero carbon development, with potential for delivering other community facilities.

                   (vii)    That the current lease of the former Askham Bar Park & Ride site be extended if this is needed for a continued use as a Vaccination Centre, until the site is ready for housing development.

                   (viii)   That approval be given to dispose of land at 17-21 Piccadilly by way of a 999 year lease for an affordable housing scheme.

                   (ix)    That authority be delegated to the Executive Member for Housing & Community Safety and the Executive Member for Finance & Performance to finalise the procurement evaluation model and select a buyer.

                   (x)     That a further lease of the site at 17-21 Piccadilly be granted to Spark:York until the site is ready for development, and that authority be delegated to the Director of Housing, Economy & Regeneration to finalise the terms of this lease in line with the proposals set out in the report.

Reason:     In order to enhance the delivery of affordable housing in the city.

[See also under Part B]

The Director of Housing, Economy & Regeneration presented a report which provided an update on the progress of the Housing Delivery Programme, sought approval to proceed to construction on the Duncombe Barracks and Burnholme sites and deliver further affordable homes, and presented proposals for the disposal of 17-21 Piccadilly (currently the site of Spark:York) for affordable housing.

The Programme was set to deliver 600 sustainable homes, mostly Passivhaus zero-carbon housing, with a minimum of 40% affordable homes.  High levels of inflation had resulted in an increase of £4.762m to the design and construction budget for the Duncombe and Burnholme sites.  However, opportunities had been identified to increase affordable housing on both these sites to 60%, via a grant bid to Homes England to change the tenure of 23 homes to shared ownership.

In respect of 17-21 Piccadilly, the following options were considered, as detailed in paragraphs 24-35 of the report:

Option 1 – dispose of the site without restricting the permitted use, in order to achieve the maximum market value.

Option 2 – dispose of the site for mixed use but specify high levels of mixed tenure affordable housing.  This was the recommended option, as it would deliver affordable

Option 3 – council to deliver a mixed scheme as part of the Castle Gateway project.

In response to questions and matters raised under Public Participation, it was confirmed that:

·        The increased cost of building to Passivhaus standards was offset by future energy savings and removal of the need for retrofitting;

·        Profit from open market sales would be re-invested in the programme;

·        Shared ownership affordability had been modelled on an average household income of £35k, which was lower than the York average;

·        Relationships between Spark:York and neighbouring residents had improved, with ongoing engagement from the council.

The Executive Member for Finance & Performance welcomed the proposals and congratulated the Housing team on being shortlisted for Local Government Excellence Award.

Resolved:  (i)      That approval be given to enter into a construction contract with Caddicks as preferred supplier for development of the Duncombe Barracks and Burnholme sites.

                   (ii)      That an application be made for further Homes England Shared Ownership grant funding for development of the Duncombe Barracks and Burnholme sites.

                   (iii)     That the level of affordable housing on the Duncombe Barracks and Burnholme sites be increased to 60% in line with the revised business case in exempt Annex 2.

                   (iv)    That approval be given to re-procure multidisciplinary design services for all future Housing Delivery Programme sites.

                   (v)     That an application be made to Homes England to extend the second hand shared ownership programme by a further 15 homes to support families into shared ownership via this route and, if funding is forthcoming, that a net HRA capital budget of £720k be agreed for the delivery of these schemes, to be funded from the Local Authority Homes (Phase 2) budget.

                   (vi)    That the future use of the former Askham Bar Park & Ride site for housing be re-affirmed and that officers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 103