Issue - meetings

Report of the Corporate Director (Housing and Communities) on the turnkey Housing development arrangement with Lovells Partnership Ltd for the purchase of 38 units at Block 1, 1-9 Town Centre, Hatfield.

(1)   Cabinet agreed to the purchase of the 38 units at Block 1, 1 to 9 Town Centre, Hatfield, at the price of £6.505M and subject to planning approval of amendments as set out in paragraph 3.3 and a suitable legal agreement.

(2)   That, subject to approval of 2.1, Cabinet recommended to Council that a Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital budget be approved for £3.383m for 2021/22 funded from increase in the borrowing requirement, and Cabinet noted that the remaining budget requirement for the scheme would be incorporated into the 2022/23 budget setting process.

Report of the Corporate Director (Housing and Communities) on the turnkey Housing development arrangement with Lovells Partnership Ltd for the purchase of 38 units at Block 1, 1-9 Town Centre, Hatfield.

(1)       The Decision Taken

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

(1)  Cabinet agreed to the purchase of the 38 units at Block 1, 1 to 9 Town Centre, Hatfield, at the price of £6.505M and subject to planning approval of amendments as set out in paragraph 3.3 and a suitable legal agreement.

(2)  That, subject to approval of 2.1, Cabinet recommended to Council that a Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital budget be approved for £3.383m for 2021/22 funded from increase in the borrowing requirement, and Cabinet noted that the remaining budget requirement for the scheme would be incorporated into the 2022/23 budget setting process.

(2)       Reasons for the Decision

The Council had an opportunity to enter into a turnkey agreement to purchase 38 completed apartments at 1-9 Town Centre Hatfield for £6.505M, to be provided as social rented housing, managed within the Council’s Housing Revenue Account.  A turnkey agreement is where the units are already designed, constructed and ready for occupation on a fixed date and at an agreed price. 

The land, which was owned by the Council, formed part of the Council’s regeneration plans for Hatfield and the Council had entered into a Development Agreement with Lovells Partnerships Ltd to develop the site.

Planning approval had been achieved at 1 -9 Town Centre for the development of 71 residential units and via a separate application, a further 80 units at Link Drive, Hatfield.  25% of the total (38 of 151) are required to be affordable.

A total of 38 units (23 two bedroom and 15 one-bedroom apartments) would be allocated for affordable housing across both sites and for ease of management and subject to planning approval, it had been agreed with Lovells Partnerships Ltd that all the affordable units could be located at Block 1, 1-9 Town Centre.

The anticipated start on site is August 2021 and the completion of the development is February 2023.

The total cost of the purchase is £6.505M, of which £3.383M will be incurred in 2021/22.  An increase in the capital budget for 2021/22 is required and approval for this will be sought at Full Council on 14 July 2021.  The remaining budget would be covered in the 2022/23 budget process.

The project had a positive net present value taking account of the residual asset value.  It represented better value for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) than individual open market purchases, and it helps to absorb right-to-buy receipts.  It is not easy to find individual sites on this scale for our Affordable Housing Programme, and therefore represents a good opportunity for the Council.