A report to Monday's Cabinet will be of much interest to local people on the housing waiting list as well as those struggling with expensive but poor private rented housing. Cabinet will, rather belatedly consider the report from the Affordable Housing Scrutiny Task Group that went to the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee in January.
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Cabinet
is asked to:
a.Note
the Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee’s endorsement of the
report, and its recommendations
b.Note
and consider the committee’s additional proposal: that plans for new housing
developments take into account the known needs of people with disabilities awaiting housing provision.
Recommendations (Link to report)
Affordable housing targets and viability
1.
In the
new Local Plan for Brent the strategic target of 50 per cent for affordable
housing in new developments should be retained, with an expected tenure split
of 70 per cent social rent / London Affordable Rent to 30 per cent intermediate
affordable housing.
2.
Brent
Council should adopt the Mayor of London’s 35 per cent “fast-track” threshold
approach to viability (with 50 per cent on publicly owned land and for
industrial sites). Through this the council would forgo the requirement for a
financial viability assessment and/or a late stage viability review in the
event that a developer guarantees delivery of the requisite percentage of
affordable housing across the entire development (with the 70 per cent social
rent / London Affordable Rent to 30 per cent intermediate tenure split
applicable). The policy should be subject to review.
3.
To
help meet the need for larger affordable homes in the borough, Brent should
continue to require a minimum of 25 per cent of new affordable rented homes to
be three bedrooms or larger, accommodating at least a household of six (2
people per bedroom). However, this approach must be combined with a clear and
effective under- occupation strategy, enabling and incentivising down-sizing in
order to release more existing larger homes for re-let.
4.
The
council should continue to use the “Existing Use Value Plus” (EUV+) method for
determining benchmark land values. Any other uplift in value should be captured
for the public.
Corporate approach to affordable housing delivery
5.
Future
council policy with regard to the setting of rents for affordable housing
should continue to be based on the traditional social rented model (like the
mayor’s London Affordable Rent model) and should not be linked to volatile and
irrational market rents rather than incomes.
6.
Brent
Council should create a cross-departmental Board of officers, reporting
directly into the Corporate Management Team (CMT), to ensure a ‘one council’,
joined-up, sustainable approach to the delivery of Affordable Housing. The board
should have high level responsibility for programme management and monitoring
of an Affordable Housing Action Plan and associated suite of Key Performance
Indicators. The Board should include senior officers from Brent’s Planning,
Housing, Regeneration, Property, Finance and Legal teams.
7.
Brent
should consider adopting a land assembly, master planner approach, working with
key partners and designating Land Assembly Zones in its Local Plan. Where
attempts to encourage and incentivise voluntary land assembly do not succeed,
Brent should commit to extend its use of compulsory purchase powers in these
zones, where the law allows.
8.
Brent
Council should maximise resources available through the mayor’s fund, RTB
receipts and borrowing to support direct delivery within its own capital
development programme with a primary focus on rented homes at social rent
levels and on larger homes (3 bedrooms or larger).
9.
Brent
must adopt a clear policy on access to shared ownership in the borough, making
the product accessible to people on incomes that are as low as possible and
ensuring the policy is designed to enable keyworkers to take advantage of it.
10. All new homes in Brent should be marketed
locally first, as per the Mayor of London’s planned “first dibs” policy. Brent
should investigate how such a requirement could be implemented.
11. Brent Council should explore all the
options highlighted in this report for innovative partnering arrangements and
delivery models with Registered Providers.
Estate regeneration
12.Future estate regeneration projects in Brent should use the South Kilburn Regeneration Programme as a model of good practice and make a clear commitment to ensuring there is no loss (in quantum terms) of social rented affordable housing and to resident ballots.
Land owned by public authorities
13. Brent should actively promote partnership working on publicly owned land with other public bodies, as promoted by the Naylor Review (One Public Estate), e.g. Network Rail/TfL sites such as potential over station and over rail land developments, as part of the Local Plan.
Industrial/employment sites
14. Brent must adopt a proactive approach to identifying opportunities where surplus commercial space, underused retail sites and car parks may have significant potential for housing development, both strategic industrial land sites and smaller commercial land sites, and in particular where sites have potential for mixed-use developments.
Small sites
15. The council and its agents should proactively explore partnerships with developers and RPs on small sites to maximise the amount of affordable housing across the borough. Brent should identify potential opportunities and funding mechanisms for increasing development of small sites, including any further opportunities for infill development. It should be prepared to invest the necessary resources.16. Developers of small sites with capacity for 10 or fewer units should be expected to pay a commuted sum, wherever possible, based on a consistent tariff, to Brent as a contribution to the fund for affordable housing to be built elsewhere in the borough. All affordable housing in small developments should be included in Brent’s periodic performance stats.
Community led housing
17.Brent should investigate and promote opportunities for community led housing projects, such as “Community Land Trusts” and “Self-Build” projects, which will protect homes and assets at affordable levels in line with local incomes for future generations.18. Brent should explore setting up of a CLT model on publicly owned land and encourage developers to do the same.
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