Purpose

BACKGROUND
On 18 September 2025 (Decisions 18th-Sep-2025 19.30 Executive.pdf), Executive approved a delegation authorising the Head of Service with responsibility for Housing and Intervention be authorised, in consultation with the Executive Member with responsibility for Housing and Chief Financial Officer, to apply, where available and appropriate, to Homes England, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, or other UK governmental or public sector bodies for additional funding, and to use any such funding to increase the budgetary envelope and support the implementation of actions for the purpose of providing affordable rented homes including social rent, affordable rent, temporary and/or emergency housing

The Government, through Homes England, has launched the Council Housebuilding Support Fund (CHSF). The fund is intended to support local authorities seeking to increase council-led housing delivery, grow their development pipelines, develop delivery partnerships and undertake eligible pre-development and enabling activities associated with future affordable housing schemes. Funding is available to support activities which strengthen councils' capacity and capability to bring forward affordable housing projects and support future bids into wider affordable housing funding programmes.

Eligible expenditure includes pre-development work, professional services, site investigations, feasibility studies and other enabling activities necessary to accelerate delivery.

Officers consider that the objectives of the CHSF closely align with the Council's ambitions to increase the delivery of affordable housing and accelerate the progression of Council-led development opportunities at both the Linkfield Street and Gloucester Road sites.

Officers have obtained indicative quotations for the professional services, surveys and enabling activities required to progress both sites through the feasibility and pre-application early design and feasibility stage. These include proposals from the MHCLG-supported Prisoners Building Homes (PBH) initiative, which can provide specialist development management, planning and technical support. This approach gives the Council access to external resource and provides greater confidence in the Council's ability to progress both sites. Please note that Officers will undertake further due diligence before any appointment of PBH (or alternative consultant(s)) is made.

The proposed work includes development feasibility assessments, capacity testing, initial concept designs, viability appraisal, and the coordination of surveys and technical reports for both sites and the preparation of an options appraisal of the routes available to the Council to bring forward the redevelopment of Gloucester Road car park. Officers consider this to be an appropriate and deliverable use of grant funding, particularly given the requirement to commit, and ideally expend, funding before March 2027. It would also enable both sites to be progressed to a sufficient stage to support discussions with the successor authority (following Local Government Reorganisation) and allow future decisions on delivery to be taken with the benefit of technical, planning and viability evidence.
Homes England has advised that CHSF applications are expected to include a local authority revenue match-funding contribution. Officers therefore propose to apply for £225,000 of grant funding and £75,000 from the Council's feasibility reserve as match funding to support the progression of both schemes through the feasibility and pre-development stages.

The availability of external funding through the CHSF presents an opportunity to accelerate the progression of both schemes by securing external funding towards the cost of feasibility, design and enabling activities. If successful, the funding would enable Officers to progress both sites, including the appointment of an architect-led design team and specialist consultants, the completion of site investigations and legal due diligence, the preparation of technical assessments where appropriate, and the development of proposals to support future planning applications. The options appraisal for Gloucester Road car park will enable a preferred option to be identified for development into an outline business case.

REASON FOR DECISION
The Council has identified the Linkfield Street and Gloucester Road Car Park sites as potential opportunities to increase the delivery of affordable housing within the borough. Progressing feasibility, design and associated due diligence work is necessary to establish the viability and deliverability of both schemes and to inform future decisions. In the case of Gloucester Road Car Park, the options appraisal will assess the potential delivery models and options for including but not limited to direct delivery, partnership approaches including joint ventures, disposal, and other mechanisms allowing a preferred option to be identified and developed into an outline business case.
The CHSF provides an opportunity to secure external funding to accelerate these activities and reduce the level of Council funding required. Officers have obtained indicative quotations for the principal consultancy, survey and enabling activities required to progress the schemes and have prepared an accompanying business case demonstrating the anticipated scope of works, costs and benefits.
The proposed actions are consistent with the delegations approved by Executive relating to the pursuit of external funding, and the progression of preparatory development activities on Council-owned sites.

CONSULTATION
The Head of Service with responsibility for Housing and Intervention be authorised to apply for Council Housebuilding Support Funding via Homes England’s Application Process, to support feasibility and pre-planning activities on both the Council’s identified pipeline sites at Linkfield Street and Gloucester Road Carpark, in consultation with:
- the Executive Member with responsibility for Housing and;
- the Executive Member with responsibility for Assets and;
- the Chief Financial Officer and;
- the Monitoring Officer.

Through this delegation paper, colleagues are requested to consider and provide responses and queries on the matters set out above as part of the consultation process.

Decision

The Head of Service with responsibility for Housing and Intervention, in consultation with the Executive Member for Housing, the Executive Member with responsibility for Assets, the Monitoring Officer, and the Chief Financial Officer, approves the submission of an application to the Homes England Council Housebuilding Support Fund for £225,000.

Alternative options considered

Do not proceed with the proposed funding application and associated activities
The Council could choose not to pursue the CHSF opportunity or undertake the proposed feasibility, design and pre-development activities. This option is not recommended as it would delay progression of both the Linkfield Street and Gloucester Road Car Park sites, reducing the Council's ability to establish their viability and deliverability and potentially limiting future affordable housing delivery opportunities. It would also result in the loss of an opportunity to secure external funding to support these activities.