Agenda

Delegated planning decisions for the week beginning 25 April 2022 are attached.  Contact for enquiries: Jean McPherson, Group Manager (Development Management) on jean.mcpherson@crawley.gov.uk.

The Council is constantly seeking opportunities to secure affordable housing, and particularly for rental accommodation, and this opportunity is to acquire an apartment block of 6 flats at Forge Wood 2B, which were intended to be Discounted Market Sale (DMS), but an acceptable discount has been negotiated with Taylor Wimpey for Crawley Homes to purchase these apartments for the purpose of Rental Tenure.

As DMS units they were to be sold to buyers with a Crawley Connection at 20% discount which is then retained by the Council as unsold equity. This particular offer is almost identical to the government’s Help-to-Buy (HtB) scheme, and buyers of these DMS units would have an equal opportunity to buy HtB units that are available in the market. So while this acquisition will not necessarily increase the number of affordable units, it will ‘flip’ tenures to better address local housing needs for rental accommodation, and will enhance Crawley Homes’ housing stock.

This apartment block consists of 6 x 2beds that are due for completion by end-June, presenting a quick-win, with allocations from the Council’s Housing Register ultimately reducing pressures on temporary accommodation further down the housing chain.

Crawley Homes has an approved budget for the purchase of properties in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Leader of the Council, which will be used to acquire these properties, representing good value for money.

Therefore, on 26 April 2022 the Head of Crawley Homes and the Head of Corporate Finance agreed that the Council acquire the six 2-bed flats at Forge Wood (2B) for social rent.  This decision was taken in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Leader of the Council in accordance with the Financial Approval Levels set out in the Council’s Constitution.

The Council is constantly seeking opportunities to secure affordable housing, and particularly for rental accommodation, and this opportunity is to acquire an apartment block of 15 flats at Forge Wood 2B, which were intended to be Discounted Market Sale (DMS), but an acceptable discount has been negotiated with Taylor Wimpey for Crawley Homes to purchase these apartments for the purpose of social rent tenure.

As DMS units they were to be sold to buyers with a Crawley Connection at 20% discount which is then retained by the Council as unsold equity. This particular offer is almost identical to the government’s Help-to-Buy (HtB) scheme, and buyers of these DMS units would have an equal opportunity to buy HtB units that are available in the market. So while this acquisition will not necessarily increase the number of affordable units, it will ‘flip’ tenures to better address local housing needs for rental accommodation, and will enhance Crawley Homes’ housing stock.

This apartment block consists of 6 x 1-beds and 9 x 2-beds that are due for completion by end-June, presenting a quick-win, with allocations from the Council’s Housing Register ultimately reducing pressures on temporary accommodation further down the housing chain.

Crawley Homes has an approved budget for the purchase of properties in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Leader of the Council, which will be used to acquire these properties, representing good value for money.

Therefore, on 26 April 2022 the Head of Crawley Homes and the Head of Corporate Finance agreed that the Council acquire the fifteen (6 x 1-bed and 9 x 2-bed) Flats at Forge Wood (2B) for Social Rent.  This decision was taken in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Leader of the Council in accordance with the Financial Approval Levels set out in the Council’s Constitution.

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