Purpose

The Council has entered into a funding
agreement in relation to an offer of £21.7m of Housing
Infrastructure Fund grant to support the delivery of the Garden
Village at Handforth.
 
The Council has made substantial progress on
the scheme, such as securing planning consent, and the preliminary
design of the primary infrastructure is well underway.
 
However, Homes England has issued a
Reservation of Rights letter as it has become clear that the
milestones set out in the current funding agreement (which requires
completion of funding drawdown by the 31/03/2025) are
unachievable.
 
Homes England has therefore concluded that the
Council will default on the current agreement. Under the terms of
the funding agreement, the Council is required to submit a
Remediation Plan to set out how it will remedy or mitigate this
default. If the Remediation Plan is accepted by Homes England, they
will prepare a contractual Deed of Variation or Deed of Amendment
which will need to be entered into.

Content

1        To submit a
Remediation Plan to Homes England. This will serve to extend
delivery milestones, and update the work programme, cashflow and
expenditure forecast, and extend the availability of HIF funding
until 31/03/27.
 
2        To enter into
a Deed of Variation or Amendment with Homes England to amend the
Housing Infrastructure Fund Grant Determination Agreement to
reflect the Remediation Plan.