Agenda and draft minutes

The Committee noted the evacuation and housekeeping procedure.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the last meeting held on 10 June 2024

AGREED the minutes of the meeting held on 10 June 2024 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To receive evidence from representatives from Registered Housing Providers.

At the second evidence-gathering session for the Committee’s review of Affordable Housingthe Committee received headline data for Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Allocations Service which included:

·       A breakdown of all registered providers operating through Tees Valley Home Finder and the percentage of nominations they offered through this system. It was noted that this percentage was the minimum and it was often higher.

·       The number of properties advertised in 2023-24 (610) and  the number of properties advertised in quarter 1 of 2024-25 (185).

·       The number of live applications for 2023-24 (2507) and quarter 1 of 2024-25 (3103), and a breakdown of the applications by bands and bedroom need.

·       A breakdown of properties allocated by band in 2023-24, which showed that the largest percentage (81.7%) were allocated to band 1 to assist in the reduction of homelessness and moving households out of Local Authority funded temporary accommodation.

It was questioned whether there were any ‘hard to let’ properties, and the Committee were informed that the Nominations and Letting team received hundreds of bids on some properties, and up to 75 bids on low demand properties. The team received details of the properties that were becoming available for each Registered Provider and could request that certain properties were allocated through Tees Valley Home Finder if they were aware that there was a need for it. 

Following this information, the focus for the meeting moved to evidence from three registered housing providers, Beyond Housing, North Star, and Thirteen. They had been invited to present their investment plans and what influenced their ability to build new affordable housing in Stockton-on-Tees Borough.

The first presentation received was from the Director of Development of Beyond Housing, which included:

·       An introduction to Beyond Housing

·       A SWOT analysis of development and sales

·       Fire safety and energy efficiency data

·       Data on repairs, including mould and damp

·       Development programme details

The main issues highlighted and discussed were as follows:

·       Beyond Housing owned 400 homes in SBC area (including homes in development).

·       The Affordable Housing Programme (Homes England grant funding) expiry at March 2026 was noted to be limiting progression of new home development already.

·       Fire safety and energy efficiency was discussed, and it was noted that significant work and investment went into ensuring properties met fire safety regulations. They had taken a decision to demolish a high rise building and rebuild due to cost effectiveness of this.

·       It was noted that there was a backlog of repairs following covid, and that the repairs required had remained at this level. This was attributed to several causes including higher expectations from tenants and the age of the housing stock.

·       Registered Providers had a legal duty to carry out gas checks and therefore held legal powers to enter properties. While carrying out gas checks, they would carry out other home safety checks, so did not need to enter the property numerous times.

·       The stalled developments in the borough were discussed. There had been a delay on the Brooklime site due to issues with drainage  ...  view the full minutes text for item PLA/21/24

Consideration was given to the Work Programme.

The next meeting would be held on Monday 9 September 2024.

AGREED that the work Programme be noted.