Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, members are asked to declare any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, any prejudicial interests or any disclosable pecuniary interests which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

Members were asked to declare, at this point in the meeting,

any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

or any prejudicial or discloseable pecuniary interest that they

might have in respect of the business on the agenda. None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Housing and Community Safety Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 19 April 2021.

Members considered the minutes of the previous Committee meeting and requested that prosecution data around hate crimes which was referenced at the 19 April meeting be shared with the Committee.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 19 April 2021 be

approved and signed as a correct record.

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registered to speak can do so. Members of the public may speak

on agenda items or on matters within the remit of the committee.

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It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

This is the final report of the scrutiny review into the provision of affordable homes on new developments.

Members were joined by Council Officers and Julia Histon from York Housing Association and Karbon Homes and Stephen Secker from the York Property Forum. The chair outlined the Committees work since it was requested to consider affordable housing on new developments by the October 2019 Area Planning meeting and outlined the findings and recommendations within the report for the Committees consideration.

The Committee discussed the need for affordable housing noting that consistently York was currently unable to build enough affordable housing to meet demand per year. It was noted that while this was a problem across the country the Committee agreed that the Council should consider options to try and provide more affordable housing to meet demand in the city.

Members considered the options of tenure types, noting that the Council’s current policy meant that schemes were required to offer 20% of properties being available at Social Rent. Officers noted that the Council currently used Social Rent, rather than a number of alternative tenure types for its affordable housing allowance was due to it being the most affordable option for residents requiring affordable housing.

Members discussed the prospect of alternative tenure types such as shared ownership, considering the prospect of providing a wider range of options for those requiring affordable housing against a greater focus on Social Rent due to it providing the best cheapest form of housing and the most likely method to support those on the Gold Band of the Councils Housing Waiting List. Members enquired about whether a focus on Social Rent lead to more developers not delivering the required number of Social Rent properties as outlined in the Council’s current policy, officers noted that while this sometimes occurs on mainly brownfield sites in the form of Section 106 agreements, when the full amount of Social Rent properties cannot be delivered, then officers do discuss other options to maximise the use of the specific development.

The Governments White Paper around its First Homes initiative was considered and it was noted that further details would be required to determine its impact on social housing previsions, however, it could alter the percentage of properties the Council could require to be available for Social Rent, or any other proposed tenure type.

The total cost of living was highlighted and Members raised the need to also tackle fuel poverty as an element of affordable housing. Officers agreed and noted that this was considered as part of the Council’s Housing Delivery Programme, however, it was also noted that the large majority of homes with poor energy ratings were existing homes and not new builds. Members enquired as to whether the Council’s current polices were hampering the delivery of affordable housing such as a commitment to building to a Pasivhaus standard? Officers noted that they did not have exact figures available on the balance of the decision around price / quality in relation to the delivery of affordable housing, however they noted that one of the largest issues was land value.

Considering recommendation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

To discuss the committee’s Work Plan for 2021-22.

Members considered the Committees workplan and requested that the Winter homelessness provision be brought forward to the Committee meeting on the 19 October 2021 to ensure the item is considered prior to winter.

Resolved:

                      i.         Winter homelessness provision be brought forward to the Committee meeting on the 19 October 2021;

                     ii.         Noted the Committee work plan.

Reason:     To ensure the Committee has a plan of work for 2021/2022.