Agenda item

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 one ‘When the First Homes initiative comes to be implemented in York, 75% of homes delivered through developer contributions as part of planning obligations agreed under section 106 should be for social rent.’ Members noted that without further detail about the First Homes initiative being released by Government, they would not propose a change to the Council’s proposed use of homes available under section 106 agreements.

Resolved: That Officers and the Executive consider the following resolutions from the Committee:

                   i.        We note that there continues to be strong need for social housing in York, that tenure types such as shared ownership and rent to buy are increasing in popularity and that consideration is being given to how the ‘First Homes’ initiative is to be implemented in York. We recommend that the current council policy - under which 80% of homes delivered through developer contributions as part of planning obligations agreed under section 106 should be for social rent – should be the starting point for any future discussions and any proposal to move away from this must be able to demonstrate how it would better meet identified housing need;

                  ii.        For future iterations of the CYC Housing Delivery Programme, officers consider a) how the programme can be structured and financed in a way that would deliver an increased proportion of affordable homes and b) opportunities for sale to - or joint working with - RPs for potential sites;

                 iii.        Officers review what steps could be taken to make it more likely that open space can be managed by CYC, particularly on CYC Housing Delivery Programme sites, including community involvement;

                iv.        That officers consider improvements that can be made to the section 106 legal agreement template and steps that could be taken to reduce the risk of post-planning delays;

                  v.        That officers consider how they might be able to more proactively engage with approaches from developers and RPs for informal discussions at an early stage, prior to a scheme proposal being submitted.

Reason:    To support the Council developing polices that can provide more affordable housing.