Decision

Health and Wellbeing Committee Minutes 53
Policy & Resources Committee Minute 79

Reasons for the decision

To authorise purchase of 3 x 2 bed houses for Temporary Social Housing and Refugee Housing.

The Exempt Appendix, information that can be used to reveal the identity of an individual, provides a list of the individual properties.

Approval was granted on 7.7.26 to purchase the first eight of the eleven two bed houses for which ADC have obtained LAHF4 funding in financial year 26/27.

This request is for specific approval to purchase the remaining three two bed houses. An early commitment to purchase a further three of the
13 x 2 bed houses available for sale within ADC area is essential to ensure we can comply with the LAHF4 grant obligations to purchase 11 x 2 bed houses in 2026/27. The developers are actively marketing their houses and these could be sold at any time until ADC commit to purchase.

The houses are due for completion end of January 2027.

Finance – H&W Committee report states maximum acquisition cost of £7.465m, before fees, with eleven two beds at a maximum cost of £357,700 each, total £3,934,700 (evidenced on the financial appraisal).

Purchase of the properties listed on the Exempt appendix results in an overall saving of £674,613 before fees.

Still to be delivered from this year’s LAHF4 programme are 1 x 3 bed and 2 x 4 bed houses. These will be the subject of a later approval request.

Alternative options considered

The availability of new two bed houses for sale within the ADC district within the financial year 26/27 was researched and developers contacted. The original result was 16 x 2 bed houses were identified within budget and available for Arun to purchase, subject to valuation and contract.

The two rejected, at this point, are the more expensive properties and there are only two available on the site. There is an economic and management advantage to purchasing the three remaining properties on the same site and they are closer to local amenities.