Democracy in Crawley

How decisions are made and who represents you

Issue - meetings

Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) Agreements

Meeting: 26/06/2019 - Cabinet (Item 10)

10 Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) Agreements pdf icon PDF 87 KB

Housing Portfolio

 

To consider report SHAP/78 of the Head of Strategic Housing, which was referred to the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 24 June 2019.

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented report SHAP/78 of the Head of Strategic Housing. The report set out how the Council had been successful in securing Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) grant funding of up to £6.4mil, from Homes England for two schemes, specifically Forge Wood and Telford Place respectively. It was detailed that HIF grant funding for Forge Wood would be use on acoustic barriers, whilst in respect of Telford Place, the funding would be used to providing new highways access, and carrying out site decontamination and public realm works.

 

It was noted due to the lengthy administration, negotiations and conditions associated with HIF grant funding, the report sought that officer delegated authority to finalise the terms and all associated terms and agreements necessary to ensure the Council was able to receive the funding.

 

Councillor Rana presented the Overview and Scrutiny Commission’s comments on the report to the Cabinet following consideration of the matter at its meeting on 24 July 2019, including their general support for the Council receiving the HIF grant funding.

 

Councillors P.Smith and Mullins spoke as part of the discussion on the report.

 

 

RESOLVED

 

That the Cabinet delegates authority to the Head of Strategic Housing Services and the Head of Corporate Finance in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, to enter into the necessary agreements with respect to the Housing Infrastructure Fund approved for Forge Wood and Telford Place, if on satisfactory terms to the Council

(Generic Delegation 7 will be used to enact this recommendation).

 

That Full Council be recommended to

 

approve an amended supplementary capital estimate of up to £6,423,280 (£4,423,280 and £2,000,000), funded from the Housing Infrastructure Fund as outlined in paragraph 3.2 of report SHAP/78.

 

Reasons for the Recommendations

 

The Housing Infrastructure Fund is grant funding awarded to the Council by Homes England to provide the infrastructure required to unlock housing development. The funding is subject to the Council meeting specified conditions and obligations, including contracting with developers to deliver the infrastructure as well as delivering the ‘unlocked’ housing.

 

The value of the grant funding to be received across both schemes amounts to £6,423,280 (£4,423,280 and £2,000,000), and for reasons of State Aid compliance the terms of the funding comes with arrangements to claw-back any added surplus emerging from each respective scheme against the projected cash-flows.

The Council will have an obligation to ‘ring-fence’ any claw-back that may be received for recycling back into housing delivery in the borough. These claw-back arrangements are still in the process of being finalised with Homes England.

 

Due to the value of the funding involved, and the associated obligations, Officers 


Meeting: 24/06/2019 - Overview and Scrutiny Commission (Item 9)

9 Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) Agreements pdf icon PDF 87 KB

To consider report SHAP/78 of the Head of Strategic Housing.

Minutes:

The Commission considered report SHAP/78 of the Head of Strategic Housing. The report sought delegated authority to permit Officers to finalise the terms of the grant funding and to enter into the Grant Determination Agreement (GDA) with Homes England, and other associated agreements as may be necessary to meet the grant funding conditions, if the terms are to Council’s satisfaction leading to a Full Council decision to HIF funding.

 

Following a discussion with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Housing Enabling & Development Manager, Members made the following comments:

·         Acknowledgement that negotiations can be complex.

·         Support for the grant funding to be received across both schemes which would assist in providing an acoustic barrier in Forge Wood, together with access, site decontamination and public realm works at Telford Place.

 

RESOLVED

That the Commission agreed the recommendations to the Cabinet.

.