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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST MADE FOR THIS ITEM:
 
None
 

RESOLVED:
 
That Cabinet:
 
1.   
Approved the commencement of a procurement exercise in accordance
with Contract Standing Order (CSO) 2.01(b) for the new?build
development of 61 council homes at High Road West, Phase 1A, for
the anticipated total contract sum set out in the exempt
report.

2.   
Delegated the appropriate route to market for High Road West, Phase
1A to the Chief Procurement Officer in compliance with the
Council’s Contract Standing Orders.

 

Reasons for decision:
 
These recommendations
enabled the re?commencement of the Scheme and facilitated the
rehousing of residents on the Love Lane Estate into new permanent
homes within the Scheme, in line with the commitments set out in
the Love Lane Landlord Offer, which had been the subject of a
positive resident ballot. The Council utilised Affordable Housing
Grant funding from the Greater London Authority (GLA), already
drawn down for the delivery of Phase 1A, helping it meet the milestones within those agreements. These
steps created momentum and resulted in meaningful progress on site
while work with Lendlease to agree a route forward on subsequent
phases continued, with the aim that these would follow the delivery
of Phase 1A.
 
Phase 1A provided 61
council homes on Council?owned land, including M4(3) wheelchair
homes and family homes, along with associated refuse stores, cycle
stores, service space, amenity space and landscaping. The council
homes had been developed with Love Lane residents through
engagement dating back to 2018. The site was granted detailed
planning permission in August 2022 as part of the hybrid planning
application for the Scheme (planning reference HGY/2021/3175), and
a subsequent Non?Material Amendment application was approved in
July 2023 (planning reference HGY/2022/3937).
 
Financial appraisals
supported by an independent cost consultant demonstrated that the
Phase 1A scheme was viable for delivery by the Council and that
value for money could be achieved via the procurement route
described in the report.
 
Under the
Council’s Contract Standing Orders, item 2.01(b) required
Cabinet approval to commence a procurement exercise for proposed
contracts valued at £500k or above. The works contract for
Phase 1A included the construction of the 61 new?build council
homes and the demolition of the existing 100 Whitehall Street
building (also known as Whitehall Lodge and located within the
Phase 1A red line boundary), which was a Council?owned
emergency?accommodation hostel and was due to be decommissioned
prior to redevelopment.
 
The Phase 1A works
contract was also planned to include the demolition of the
2–32 Whitehall Street residential block, part of the Love
Lane Estate. This block was nearly vacated, and the Council’s
rehousing team were working with tenants to relocate households
into alternative accommodation within the estate prior to the
completion of the new permanent homes at Phase 1A. Demolition of
the empty block would improve the environment for residents on the
estate and offer opportunities for temporary uses on the site prior
to development, benefiting the local community.
 

Alternative options considered:
 
Not to proceed with
direct delivery of Phase 1A
The Council could have chosen not to proceed with direct delivery
of Phase 1A, following the removal of the site from the Development
Agreement with Lendlease. However, this option would have meant
that there was no route to delivering a 100% council?home scheme
that had already secured detailed planning permission and would
have enabled the rehousing of around half of Love Lane residents.
This would have resulted in further delays to meeting commitments
in the Landlord Offer.
 
Although this option
would have allowed the Council to retain 100 Whitehall Street as
emergency accommodation, it would have left a site that had been
partially demolished and was experiencing issues with anti?social
behaviour. The existing Whitehall Lodge building would also have
required significant investment to continue operating in the medium
and long term. The provision of emergency accommodation would
instead be met at alternative sites in the borough if Phase 1A were
delivered. For these reasons, this option was discounted.