Agenda item

An opportunity for the Portfolio Holder to provide an update to the Panel on developments within his portfolio.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Homelessness Services reported he had recently visited two housing schemes.  One was a NFDC affordable homes scheme at Ladycross Road in Hythe which provided 6 newly built homes.  These properties had already been allocated and tenants were looking forward to moving in.  The other scheme was a private development under construction at Burgate Acres in Fordingbridge.  The District Council had agreed to purchase a number of the dwellings for affordable housing from the developer, Metis Homes.

The Portfolio Holder also congratulated Richard Knott on his appointment as Assistant Director for Housing.  He reported it would be his last meeting as the Portfolio Holder and expressed his thanks to the housing team for their hard work.

A member sought an explanation in relation to the financial information cited in the Performance Dashboard regarding the £100k loss in dwelling rent and the £20k loss in dwelling rent voids.  The Portfolio Holder responded, recognising that voids were undesirable, both due to the loss in rent as well as a delay in providing housing to those in need.  However, he had met with officers to further understand the matter and it was very complex.  Some dwellings had structural defects which needed to be addressed and decisions need to be taken on how best to resource the work required in order to bring these properties bring them back into use.  He was confident that the issue was being managed as best and as practically possible by the housing team.

The Service Manager for Housing Options, Rents, Support and Private Sector Housing clarified the financial information with the Performance Dashboard.  It was noted that there had been a reduction in dwelling rent income, as a result of a number of factors, including a delay in new homes becoming available for occupation.  In terms of the dwelling rent income loss, it was recognised this was a complicated matter and there were a number of longer term voids which were being addressed. The figures highlighted had already been accounted for in the Autumn budget revisions.

A member of the Panel questioned whether there was confidence in the Council being able to deliver the target of 600 new affordable homes by 2026.  The Portfolio Holder reported that the target set had been ambitious.  The delivery of housing provided by others had been slower than expected, and factors such as covid and inflation had contributed to the delay.  The Portfolio Holder paid tribute to the housing delivery team in continuing to look for new opportunities for affordable housing provision in order to keep on track to deliver the target of 600 new affordable homes by 2026.

The Service Manager for Housing Strategy and Development further clarified the housing delivery numbers.  Whilst development opportunities had been identified, 190 dwellings had less certainty of being delivered.  It was also noted that a prudent approach needed to be taken, particularly when bidding for affordable Section 106 homes from developers, whereby social housing for those applicants on the Council’s Housing Register would still be delivered regardless of who the landlord was.