Agenda item

10.05pm – Councillor Harry Phibbs moved, seconded by Councillor Nick Botterill, the special motion in the names:

“This Council notes that according to figures provided by the Mayor of London:

1.    Only 306 new affordable homes were completed over the past three and half years in Hammersmith and Fulham, an average of 87 a year.

2.    A total of 1,162 new affordable homes were completed over the last 6 years of the previous Conservative administration, an average of 194 a year.

The Council regrets:

1.    That the present Labour administration are completing affordable homes at less than half the rate of the previous administration.

2.    Labour’s failure to meet the challenge of building enough affordable homes for local residents.”

Under Standing Order 15(e) 6, Councillor Lisa Homan moved, seconded by Councillor Ben Coleman, an amendment to the special motion:

“Delete all after “This Council” and add:

applauds the tough approach taken by the Labour administration that has resulted in it winning funds from developers to build the largest amount of genuinely affordable homes for Hammersmith & Fulham’s residents in ten years.

The council notes that the data quoted in the Conservative motion is out of date and not complete. It recognises that no social housing was built by the borough’s former Conservative administration and that while it built 611 properties between 2010-2014 its definition of “affordable” was simply not affordable for most Hammersmith & Fulham residents.

The Council supports the Labour administration who (despite the Conservative/Lib Dem government’s weakening of planning regulations on affordable housing and ending of government grant to build genuinely affordable homes) will have completed 717 genuinely affordable homes between 2014-2018.

The Council further notes that this is just the start and that the Labour administration has negotiated the necessary funds from developers to build many hundreds more genuinely affordable homes for borough residents early in the 2018-2022 term.

The Council notes that the Conservative administration offered thousands of council and housing association residents’ homes for sale to developers and that this policy was immediately stopped by the Labour administration.

The Council calls on the former Conservative council leader and his administration to hang his head in shame and apologise for doing this and in particular for the dreadful deal it did with Capital and Counties PLC (Capco) in selling 756 residents’ homes on the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates.

The Council notes with disgust that the Conservative administration sold the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates:

·         Against the wishes of the vast majority of residents

·         For the knock-down price of just £105 million land payment while the Earls Court scheme (as it has become known) was valued at £12.05 billion at the time

·         That in planning terms the two estates formed a ransom site for the larger scheme Capco says it always planned to build

• While agreeing an obligation for the council to cover all BuyBack and compensation costs for delivering vacant possession but failing to index link the funds it negotiated to do this with Capco in 2012 thus structuring a scheme that would have left the council many millions of pounds out of pocket.

• That the financial package negotiated by the Conservative administration in 2012 underestimated the cost of VP:
  • £60m was budgeted as the maximum required to buy all 171 leasehold and freehold homes
  • This excluded Housing Association homes (although there was a commitment made to rehouse HA tenants)
  • This is an average value of £350k per home
  • The council has purchased 26 homes to date at an average price of £552K, excluding compensation
  • The maximum total cost of VP as advised by GVA in 2017 is a range of £150m to £174m

The Council agrees that a full inquiry into this deal should be undertaken and supports the Labour administration’s aim to get the estates back.

The Council furthermore recognises that the supply of affordable homes is significantly higher as the Labour administration has stopped all such council housing sells offs as well as building homes for residents.”

The amendment to the special motion was then put to the vote:

FOR                            20

AGAINST                   16

NOT VOTING            0

The amendment was declared CARRIED.

The special motion as amended was then put to the vote:

FOR                            20

AGAINST                   16

NOT VOTING            0

The special motion as amended was declared CARRIED.

10.07pm – RESOLVED

This Council applauds the tough approach taken by the Labour administration that has resulted in it winning funds from developers to build the largest amount of genuinely affordable homes for Hammersmith & Fulham’s residents in ten years.

The Council notes that the data quoted in the Conservative motion is out of date and not complete. It recognises that no social housing was built by the borough’s former Conservative administration and that while it built 611 properties between 2010-2014 its definition of “affordable” was simply not affordable for most Hammersmith & Fulham residents.

The Council supports the Labour administration who (despite the Conservative/Lib Dem government’s weakening of planning regulations on affordable housing and ending of government grant to build genuinely affordable homes) will have completed 717 genuinely affordable homes between 2014-2018.

The Council further notes that this is just the start and that the Labour administration has negotiated the necessary funds from developers to build many hundreds more genuinely affordable homes for borough residents early in the 2018-2022 term.

The Council notes that the Conservative administration offered thousands of council and housing association residents’ homes for sale to developers and that this policy was immediately stopped by the Labour administration.

The Council calls on the former Conservative council leader and his administration to hang his head in shame and apologise for doing this and in particular for the dreadful deal it did with Capital and Counties PLC (Capco) in selling 756 residents’ homes on the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates.

The Council notes with disgust that the Conservative administration sold the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates:

·         Against the wishes of the vast majority of residents

·         For the knock-down price of just £105 million land payment while the Earls Court scheme (as it has become known) was valued at £12.05 billion at the time

·         That in planning terms the two estates formed a ransom site for the larger scheme Capco says it always planned to build

• While agreeing an obligation for the council to cover all BuyBack and compensation costs for delivering vacant possession but failing to index link the funds it negotiated to do this with Capco in 2012 thus structuring a scheme that would have left the council many millions of pounds out of pocket.

• That the financial package negotiated by the Conservative administration in 2012 underestimated the cost of VP:
  • £60m was budgeted as the maximum required to buy all 171 leasehold and freehold homes
  • This excluded Housing Association homes (although there was a commitment made to rehouse HA tenants)
  • This is an average value of £350k per home
  • The council has purchased 26 homes to date at an average price of £552K, excluding compensation
  • The maximum total cost of VP as advised by GVA in 2017 is a range of £150m to £174m

The Council agrees that a full inquiry into this deal should be undertaken and supports the Labour administration’s aim to get the estates back.

The Council furthermore recognises that the supply of affordable homes is significantly higher as the Labour administration has stopped all such council housing sells offs as well as building homes for residents.