To consider the Cabinet report ‘Holes Bay – Former Power Station Site’ scheduled for consideration on 12 July 2019, which will propose a revised approach to bring forward housing delivery at this site. The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise the report and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate.
Cabinet members invited to attend for this item: Councillor Kieron Wilson, Portfolio Holder for Housing; Councillor Mark Howell, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Culture.
The Cabinet report will be published on Thursday 4 July 2019 and available to view at the following link:
https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=285&MId=3720&Ver=4
Minutes:
The Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Culture and the Portfolio Holder for Housing introduced the report and explained the context. The site was the largest regeneration opportunity for housing available in the BCP Council area. The Board questioned the Portfolio Holders on a number of aspects of the report including:
· The Board was informed that there would be costs and risks associated with the proposal to move forward with a Compulsory Purchase Order – CPO on the site. A Councillor asked what evidence there was, that by the Council acquiring the site it would enable it to be developed in an exceptional way. The Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Culture responded that they were happy to move forward with the current landowners developing the site but in the midst of a national housing crisis the Council needed to take action to ensure that it did not remain undeveloped. The housing waiting list across BCP was extensive. The Board was advised by the Portfolio Holder that the site had potential for 850 homes and was essential for meeting local housing targets. It had remained empty and undeveloped for the past 17 years.
· In response to a question from the Board the Portfolio Holder commented that whilst the private sector was only motivated by profit as a local authority there were additional considerations in developing the site such as the necessity to meet housing targets and provide much needed homes in the area.
· The Board questioned the Portfolio Holders on why BCP Council would be able to deliver on the site when the current landowners hadn’t been able to. The Portfolio Holder for Housing explained that there was currently funding available from Homes England which may be lost if it wasn’t used within a given timeframe. The developers had confirmed that they did not intend to proceed with this funding agreement. Projections for the development of the site had been drawn up which were thought to be viable and the site was extremely important in meeting the Council’s housing targets.
· A Councillor questioned whether the viability for developing the land had been proven and what the level of risk was in the Council acquiring land which may not be able to be developed. The Cabinet members acknowledged that there was level of risk but there was also a risk in losing the available funding and site development not taking place. A delivery mechanism would be in place before a CPO was instigated. Cabinet members confirmed that they would prefer not to use the CPO on the site but were prepared to if it was the best way forward. It was hoped that the site could be purchased in a normal commercial deal.
· The Board raised concerns about the amount of money the Council would need to put up and the associated risk. The Portfolio Holders advised that a CPO wouldn’t be exercised unless there was a clear business case identifying all risks within the acquisition strategy.
· The Board members asked if there was a parallel plan if the deadline for funding could not be met and whether the Local Enterprise Partnership LEP had been informed. It was explained that these issues would be addressed in the site acquisition strategy. The LEP were aware of the situation.
A Ward Councillor requested to speak on the item and commented that although the report mentions current Ward Councillors were supportive of the proposed approach this was the first time that he had seen the report. The Portfolio Holders apologised for this oversight. The Chairman commented that it may be useful to share information on the risk/deliverability/evidence base for the intended decision if there was anything further available.
RESOLVED that:
The Overview and Scrutiny Board support the recommendations within the Cabinet report.