Decision details

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet

a)         agree to change to the budget heading of Acquisition Buy Back of Dwellings to Acquisition of Land or Dwellings.

b)         agree to change the budget heading of Purchase of Edinburgh House to Purchase of Properties.

c)         delegate joint authority to the Head of Crawley Homes and the Head of Corporate Finance in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Leader of the Council to purchase suitable land or property for the delivery of housing within the limits of the HRA budgets identified in 2.1 a and b. (Generic Delegation 8 will be used to enact this recommendation).

d)         amend the financial approval levels within the Constitution to ensure that they reflect the ability of the Council to purchase acquisitions efficiently within the agreed budgets

Reasons for the Recommendations

There are opportunities to purchase either land or property that would benefit the council’s ambition to develop affordable housing, but the process of agreement through Cabinet and full Council means that the council is not able to act quickly and can lose out to other developers.

This will allow the Council to continue the delivery of dwellings funded from the HRA as part of HRA business plan and the Council’s RTB Receipts (one-for-one) funding programme and provide housing for Crawley residents in need from the housing register.