Agenda item

The Corporate Strategic Housing Manager presented his report, which provided an update on the outturn position of the Affordable Housing Development Programme for 2015/16 regarding Area North, the position for the current financial year and future prospects. He highlighted key details and provided further explanation about some points in the report including:

·         Full details on Starter Homes were still awaited as the Secretary of State is yet to propose the required Regulations.

·         Referring to rural housing allocation, points were not awarded for local connection but local connection would give a priority under our policy.

·         Yarlington disposals, a number of which had come forward in recent months. The policy had not been rural-proofed and most disposals to date had been in rural areas with a disproportionate affect.

·         Most housing need is met through vacancies arising within existing housing stock so the raw data on the register is not necessarily the same as the need for new-build stock.

·         A need to acknowledge that delivery of affordable housing comes through in clumps and is not a steady trickle.

During discussion the Corporate Strategic Housing Manager acknowledged comments and opinions made, and responded to points of detail including:

·         Comments of the Minister for Housing about plans for prefab housing to solve the housing crisis.

·         He would obtain the figures detailing the average percentage of affordable housing actually being delivered as part of housing obligations and circulate to members.

·         If parishes feel there is a housing need that may not be met within their parish, he would encourage them to do a housing needs survey as doing so may highlight a hidden need.

·         The process for delivering affordable housing schemes could be lengthy and came with a risk any party involved could retract from the process at any stage.

At the conclusion of discussion, the Chairman thanked the officer for his informative report and attending the meeting to answer questions.