Agenda item - Telford Place Development Opportunity

Housing Portfolio

Exempt Paragraph 3

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

To consider report SHAP/82 of the Head of Strategic Housing Services, which was referred to the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission held on 28 June 2021.

Exempt Paragraph 3 – information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet:

a) approves the proposed procurement strategy towards achieving the objective of a policy-compliant residential development as detailed in section 5 of report SHAP/82.

b) approves the development proposal for the purposes of delivering an affordable housing scheme, with the Council securing the affordable rent element, as detailed in section 6 of report SHAP/82.

c) delegates authority to the Head of Strategic Housing Services, the Head of Corporate Finance and the Head of Legal, Governance & HR in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Housing, to enter into the necessary contracts, and complete all relevant legal documentation to achieve the above recommendations. (Generic Delegation 2 and 3 will be used to enact this recommendation).

d) in considering the Commission’s views, asks that Officers and the developers consider ways, if possible, in which they can preserve the tree and increase the percentage parking on the site.

Reasons for the Recommendations

The Council acquired the Telford Place site in 2015 for the purposes of developing a policy compliant residential scheme. Following two attempts to procure a development partner the market has failed to perform, but the Council is now presented with the opportunity to progress the development of this site as an all affordable housing scheme.

Exempt Paragraph 3 – information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented report SHAP/82of the Head of Strategic Housing Services. The report requested Cabinet to consider a development proposal for the delivery of a policy-compliant mixed tenure affordable housing development, with the Council retaining the affordable rent quota of the scheme as intended in the previous procurement attempts.

Councillor T Belben presented the Overview and Scrutiny Commission’s comments on the report to the Cabinet following consideration of the matter at its meeting on 28 June 2021, and in doing so highlighted that the Commission were putting forward a further recommendation for the Cabinet to consider, namely:

That the Cabinet re-consider the level of parking proposed for this development, for the reasons provided in the Commission’s discussion.

Councillors Crow and Burrett respectively were invited to speak on the item and in doing so acknowledged the Commission’s suggestion. Councillor Crow also raised the matter of the large tree adjacent to the site and the potential impact the development might have on the tree.

Councillors Lamb, P Smith, C Mullins and Irvine spoke during the discussion on the report and the Commission’s recommendation. It was confirmed that the level of parking for a development was not decided by Cabinet and that would be addressed through the planning process and ultimately by the Planning Committee when considering the development’s planning permission. Cabinet members understood the Commission’s concerns and felt it suitable to ask officers and the proposed developers to further investigate, as part of their ongoing work, as to whether the parking on the site could be increased and the tree could be preserved as part of the project. During the debate on the item, it was conveyed that the Cabinet strongly hoped that the development of the site would come to fruition, after a number of failed attempts.