Agenda item

This report provides an update on the council’s work to shape better places through the development of new, affordable housing and community infrastructure such as schools, community spaces, and commercial space.

Matt Rumble, Strategic Head of Area Regeneration gave a presentation which provided an update on the council’s work to shape better places through the development of new, affordable housing and community infrastructure such as schools, community spaces, and commercial space. The presentation drew attention to the following:

·       Background to the Development Programme.

·       Placemaking in the Development Programme.

·       Example Schemes ( White City Central, Ed City, Old Laundry Yard, Avonmore School and Lillie Road).

·       Other housing growth initiatives (Quayside Lodge Acquisition, Refugee Housing Programme and Housing and Corporate Asset Review).

The Chair thanked Matt Rumble for a clear and comprehensive update and for providing many examples of development projects.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang echoed the Chair’s comments on the report. However, he thought there was scope to improve how this progress was communicated to residents. He explained that his case work illustrated that some residents only saw the negatives associated with development rather than the positive outcomes. Making a general point on development, it was his view that Housing Associations had become too large and it was good that the Council was working directly with developers to address housing need. It was also essential that with any form of development, that the Council explained what section 106 monies stemmed from the development and how this would be used to benefit the local community.

Matt Rumble explained in terms of lessons learnt, that having engaged with residents, the more that could be done to demystify the process, the better the engagement process was, and residents were more likely to feel they owned a project. He explained every scheme was different, and the Council had to think creatively about how it could engage the local community. With regards to communicating with residents, Matt Rumble underlined the Council needed to sell what it was doing and ensure it talked to its Tenant Residents Associations (TRAs) forums to illustrate where it had been successful and provide confidence that other projects in the future would be delivered in the same way. He explained it was necessary the Council demonstrated proof of concept first with a few smaller schemes before the Council increased this messaging with larger schemes.

Councillor Jackie Borland commended the level of ambition set out in the report and presentation. She noted that Housing Associations were focusing on maintaining the stocks they already had, but highlighted she regularly received reports from residents that were suffering from leaks, mould and other issues. Very large leaseholder bills  was another issue that was highlighted. She commented that it was important when future homes were designed, leaseholders were not saddled with huge bills they would struggle to pay.

In response, Matt Rumble confirmed that in the very early stages of any development, officers did examine the lifecycle costs of Council assets to ensure they were building premises that were built to last and would not need substantial investment in the future. And in terms of the Council’s housing stock, Matt Rumble confirmed officers were conducting a comprehensive stock condition survey (which had been ongoing for several years). This would inform the Council what the quality of all its homes were in the borough, and help the Council set the blue-print for where and how it invested in housing stock in the future in a data driven way.

Councillor Ashok Patel commented that the projects were meant to be self-financing

and asked how long it would take for the Council to be reimbursed. In response, Matt Rumble provided details of how schemes worked. It was noted that if the Council were to solely rely on financing its schemes through sales receipts, the Council would build fewer affordable homes. By using the rental income to pay down the residual debt it meant that Council could build more affordable homes.

The Chair remarked that the Table in Annex 1 was particularly helpful as it gave a clear picture of the number of homes in each scheme, their tenure (affordable as opposed to market rent) and the completion dates. He noted that several schemes would be completed in the next two to three years. In terms of creating happy and diverse communities, the Chair explained that he went to the grand opening of the White City Youth Zone which was very well attended. In relation to sustainability and passive house  / environmental benefits of the building, the Chair asked if these benefits could be articulated in terms of the carbon reduction and the reduction in energy bill costs. With regards to the Ed City Development, the Chair asked how much family accommodation had been built there, as three-bedroom properties were rarer than was ideal across the borough.

In response to housing sustainability, Matt Rumble explained that a presentation on this had recently been provided to the Housing and Homelessness PAC and he offered to return to the Committee and provide a similar presentation. He provided details of how carbon reduction was calculated, and it was noted that Council was now reducing its carbon emissions substantially with the Hartopp and Lannoy scheme reducing emissions by 84% compared to the building standard in 2013 which meant that tenants saw a reduction of between 50 to 65% in their energy bills.

Matt Rumble confirmed that in relation to the Family Housing Strategy, this was being addressed through the development programme. Based on the Council’s Housing Needs Data, the housing need in Hammersmith and Fulham was predominantly for one and two-bedroom properties, so schemes were developed with this in mind. However, the Council recognised there was also a need for some larger properties and so was trying to factor in more larger family sized homes into its new developments.

The Chair was pleased that new housing developments were coming into fruition over the next few years and commented that the committee would monitor developments closely.

RESOLVED

That the committee note and comment on the report and the presentation.