Agenda item

To receive a presentation (at the meeting) and accompanying report (to follow) giving an overview of the housing service at Selby District Council, including affordable housing and housing need.

The Committee received a presentation and short report from the Council’s Housing and Environmental Health Service Manager which gave an overview of affordable housing in order to support future housing policy reviews.

Members noted that the Council’s Corporate Plan aimed to meet housing needs through an increased supply and recognised that a proportion of homes needed to be affordable for those who could not access market sale prices or rents. The Council’s definition of affordable housing was set out in the Core Strategy.

Members acknowledged that the Council’s aims for the delivery of additional affordable homes were set out in a number of strategies and plans:

·      Corporate Plan 2015-2020

·      York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Housing Strategy 2015-2021

·      Housing Revenue Account Business Plan 2020-20215 (in draft)

·      Empty Homes Strategy

·      Housing Development Strategy 2013

·      Affordable Housing Supplementary Document (adopted in 2014).

The Council was able to provide affordable housing through the planning system, which required developers of new residential developments (of over 10 units) to provide either on-site affordable housing or off-site financial contributions to be spent on affordable housing elsewhere in the District, where appropriate.

The Committee were informed that smaller numbers of new affordable homes were developed by the Council and by registered providers independently either on small or rural exception sites.

Members noted that in 2018-19 183 new affordable homes were delivered across the District, 11 of which were rural and 19 were directly delivered by Selby District Council and Selby District Housing Trust.

Members were given further information on the Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA), planning to provide affordable housing, what was meant by affordable housing and affordable homes for rent, home ownership products, the delivery of affordable housing through the planning system, the role of registered providers, Rural Exception Sites, the Council’s role in the direct delivery of affordable housing and the allocation of affordable housing and North Yorkshire Home Choice.

The Committee requested that the presentation be circulated to them via email after the meeting.

In response to questions from Members, Officers confirmed that the number of properties sold by the Council under Right to Buy annually was around 20 and that there were approximately 450 empty homes in the District. The Committee were pleased to note that an item on setting empty home targets and benchmarking would be considered at their next meeting in October.

Members expressed concerns about the accessibility of services for residents in smaller villages and more rural areas of the District. Members were pleased that the North Yorkshire Home Choice scheme would be coming back to the committee for discussion later in the 2019-20 year.

The Committee noted that one compulsory purchase of a property was currently underway; initially 20 to 30 properties had been identified for compulsory purchase with a number of discussions having already started due to this initial identification. Officers explained that the majority of data on empty properties came from the Council’s council tax information, but that extra information from Members would be useful.

Members also asked Officers about the eligibility criteria for Council housing, and discussed the need for social rented homes, sheltered/supported housing and bungalows in the District. The Committee hoped that through the development of the new local plan for Selby, such needs could be addressed and planned for. Members also asked for more information from Officers on community led housing schemes.

Officers explained further about indicative transfer values to housing associations, which were often dictated by the value of land. It was noted that the values tended to be quite competitive and were often at market rates for housing associations; further thought was being given to Section 106 planning agreements specifying the rate at which housing could be sold.

The Committee noted that there was support from the Executive Lead Member for Place Shaping for the Council to expand its social housing stock, and that the Housing Development Strategy was due for a review. The potential of garage sites for affordable housing had already been explored by the Council, but had not been successful due to viability issues; the process of identifying sites for such development had been more difficult than anticipated.

Members agreed that a different strategy was needed, including better partnerships with the Council and developers in order for the authority to advise early on what types of housing were needed in the District.

Officers explained that they wanted to continue to improve housing and deliver on the national space standard in housing units, which was also being driven nationally by the government. It was very important to the Council that the quality of housing available was good and that pricing was consistent.

There was some concern that housing associations took on most of the new housing stock built in the District, and as such it should be considered how, as a local authority, Selby District Council could improve its chances of obtaining Section 106 properties.

It was noted that the Committee would be considering the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan at their October meeting and Home Choice at their December meeting; as such Members would be able to continue to look at housing issues and begin to form the basis of recommendations to the Executive.

RESOLVED:

i.       To note the Officer’s presentation and report.

ii.     To ask Officers to circulate the presentation by email to the Committee after the meeting.

iii.    To ask Officers to circulate figures for the number of Council homes sold annually under the Right to Buy scheme.

iv.    To ask Officers to send the Committee more information on community led housing.