Purpose

To approve a grant programme to fund the
acquisition of large family homes for allocation to current
households on the Council’s housing register, via a
registered provider of housing partner.

Decision

RESOLVED that
 

i.      
the allocation of s106 affordable housing funding to a Registered
Provider to acquire 4 three bedroom and 4 four bedroom homes to be
made available for families on the council’s housing register
is approved.
 

ii.    
the spending of £2.86m of capital spend from the s106
affordable housing fund for the programme is agreed.

Reasons for the decision

i.      
The need for additional three- and four-bedroom homes is a priority
for the Council, as set out in the Housing Strategy 2023-2028. The
shortage of larger properties has resulted in average waiting times
of over 5 years for three-bedroom homes and over 6 years for
four-bedroom homes.
 

ii.    
The Council has approximately £5.5m in s106 affordable
housing funds available once existing commitments are considered.
The proposal in this report is to allocate approximately half of
this funding to support an acquisition programme.
 

iii.   
An increase in large family homes provided for social rent would
help to alleviate overcrowding in the borough, with wider benefits
for the families who are allocated these homes.

Alternative options considered

i.      
At the present time, there are no other proposals for spend of the
uncommitted funds in the s106 affordable housing fund, which can
only be used for additional affordable housing.
 

ii.    
Other options for increasing the number of three and four bed homes
for affordable and social rent include: working through the
planning process to seek more larger affordable homes from
developers; use of surplus council land to deliver new build larger
homes through transfer to a register provider (as proposed on the
Binfield Road site) or through the joint venture partnership (as
proposed on the Depot site); targeted programmes to support
under-occupiers living in larger homes to downsize to smaller
properties. All the above options are already being pursued and are
expected to deliver a modest increase in larger affordable homes in
future years.
 

iii.   
Cabinet could choose to increase the number of properties acquired
through this scheme by seeking properties to be let at affordable
rents, or through a mix of affordable and social rents.