Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director, Growth, Planning and Housing

6.1     Barbara Brownlee, Executive Director, Growth, Planning and Housing advised that the report set out particularly ambitious plans to improve the Council’s housing stock and deliver increased affordable housing targets.

6.2     Barbara Brownlee explained that the plan did not account for the removal of the HRA borrowing cap as this was announced following the publication of the agenda.  Nor did it reflect the true cost of delivering the regeneration of the Ebury Bridge Estate.  A report on the latter containing an updated budget will be presented to a future Cabinet meeting.

6.3     Barbara Brownlee highlighted that the Council is operating close to the current borrowing cap.  She commented that while the removal of the cap is a very positive step, the Council can only borrow what it can afford.  The plan will be reviewed in light of this change and a report on this will be presented to Cabinet at its meeting in February. The current plan can deliver all of the housing priorities defined in the Council’s City for All programme.  This will, however, depend on Capital Receipts coming in.  She advised that Housing Officers were working closely with Finance colleagues to ensure that these come in on schedule. 

6.4     Councillor Rachael Robathan stressed that the Council is committed to delivering more affordable homes and is on track to do so.  She acknowledged that any further borrowing as a result of the removal of the cap would need to be subject to prudential considerations.  The removal of the cap, which was welcomed by the Leader, provides the Council with greater flexibility rather than having to make the difficult choice between undertaking maintenance of its existing stock or developing affordable homes.

Resolved:

1.       That the indicative HRA capital programme budgets for 2019-2020 to 2023-2024 set out in Appendix B of the report be noted.

2.       That the indicative HRA revenue budget for 2019-2010 (Section 11 and Appendix C to the report) be noted.

Reasons for Decision

The plans outlined in the report will enable the Council to invest in maintaining and improving the existing stock of homes and neighbourhoods within its management, while also delivering wider benefits to the City’s residents and businesses.  The financial plan will ensure the housing stock continues to meet the housing needs with which the city is faced; and ensure the HRA remains sustainable and viable over the long term. This plan has been developed within existing borrowing limits.

The budgets are due for noting at this point before formal Council approval in March 2019.  Further review will be undertaken during the intervening period to model the impact of any changes to capital or revenue programmes.  This will ensure the approved HRA programme will be as robust as possible at that point in time. The following will be reviewed in advance of budgets being formally presented for approval:

·             Details of the Government announcement on the removal of the borrowing cap and any other associated measures that may be brought in.

·             Ebury Bridge delivery assumptions will be refined which may change the impact on the HRA.  A paper is anticipated to go to Cabinet in the autumn and any resulting changes to the delivery model fed into the business plan.

·             Whilst the plan is affordable within existing limits, there is little or no headroom over the first 10 years of the plan. Therefore further work would be undertaken to try to increase the headroom to build in additional mitigation against risk. Subject to the detail of the recent government announcement however, this may no longer be necessary.

·             Subject to the detail on the announcement, it may be possible to revisit scheme phasings as well as how much can be undertaken within the business plan.