Issue - meetings

1.    That the bid to be made to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) be approved, as set out in the report, including the financial details in part 2, for additional borrowing freedom for £10.1M in the Housing Revenue Account to facilitate the early delivery of 106 new homes and to approve the acceptance of the bid if successful.

2.    That the bid be accepted, if successful, and the detail, process and utilisation of any increased borrowing arising from the bid be delegated to the Corporate Director Housing and Regeneration and the Corporate Director Finance and Operations including any minor variations that may need to be made following liaison with MHCLG.

3.    That the purchase of land at Paradise Fields for Homes England on the terms set out in the Part 2 report be approved and the process of purchase be delegated to the Corporate Director Finance and Operations. £150,000 to be allocated for consultancy and design work, from the existing 2018/19 HRA new build budget also be approved.

4.    That the revised contract, as set out in Part 2 of this report, for the construction of new homes at Stationers Place, be awarded to Jarvis UK Ltd.

5.    That delegated authority be given to the Corporate Director Housing and Regeneration in consultation with the Corporate Director Finance and Operations and the Assistant Director, Corporate and Contracted Services and  the Portfolio Holder Housing and Portfolio Holder Finance and Resources to purchase land of a value up to £5,000,000 for housing development.

6.    That the Housing Revenue Account land purchase Framework set out in the report be approved.

7.    That the new build update be noted.

Decision

1.    That the bid to be made to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) be approved, as set out in the report, including the financial details in part 2, for additional borrowing freedom for £10.1M in the Housing Revenue Account to facilitate the early delivery of 106 new homes and to approve the acceptance of the bid if successful.

2.    That the bid be accepted, if successful, and the detail, process and utilisation of any increased borrowing arising from the bid be delegated to the Corporate Director Housing and Regeneration and the Corporate Director Finance and Operations including any minor variations that may need to be made following liaison with MHCLG.

3.    That the purchase of land at Paradise Fields for Homes England on the terms set out in the Part 2 report be approved and the process of purchase be delegated to the Corporate Director Finance and Operations. £150,000 to be allocated for consultancy and design work, from the existing 2018/19 HRA new build budget also be approved.

4.    That the revised contract, as set out in Part 2 of this report, for the construction of new homes at Stationers Place, be awarded to Jarvis UK Ltd.

5.    That delegated authority be given to the Corporate Director Housing and Regeneration in consultation with the Corporate Director Finance and Operations and the Assistant Director, Corporate and Contracted Services and  the Portfolio Holder Housing and Portfolio Holder Finance and Resources to purchase land of a value up to £5,000,000 for housing development.

6.    That the Housing Revenue Account land purchase Framework set out in the report be approved.

7.    That the new build update be noted.

Corporate objectives

Monitoring Officer:  

Any land purchases under the proposed delegation in recommendation 5 will need to be documented in an officer decision sheet to ensure that the decision is properly recorded.

Full site due diligence and valuation assessment should also be carried and reported in the officer decision sheet for consideration by the statutory officers.

Deputy S.151 Officer

The revised new build development programme and subsequent submission for an increase in the HRA borrowing limit, by £10.1m, has been modelled through the 30 year business plan. The business case put forward is financially sustainable but will require close monitoring.

The HRA is projected, if the bid is accepted, to maximise its new extended borrowing cap of £364min 2021/22 and 2022/23, hence fiscal management is key, as borrowing to the maximum capacity provides no headroom. The strategy will need to continue to be closely monitored to ensure the new build development plan remains deliverable and affordable.

The financial increase in the tender contract for Stationers place can be delivered within the existing new build development budget. The increase in contract value after analysis is in line with the expected industry inflationary increases over this time period.

The implementation of a land purchase framework/delegated decision making process will allow for the HRA to react to market conditions in a timely manner. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 96