Agenda, decisions and minutes

Resolved: to agree Councillor Handley as Chair of the Committee and Councillor Davis as Vice-Chair of the Committee for 2013/14.

Resolved: to agree Councillor Handley as Chair of the Committee and Councillor Davis as Vice-Chair of the Committee for 2013/14.

Resolved: to accept the minutes as an accurate record of the meeting.

Resolved: to accept the minutes as an accurate record of the meeting.

Councillor Bell declared a non-prejudicial interest, as a Lewisham Homes Board Director

Councillor Bell declared a non-prejudicial interest, as a Lewisham Homes Board Director

RESOLVED: The work programme be agreed, and updated in light of the recommendations made at the meeting.

4.1       Timothy Andrew (Scrutiny Manager) introduced the report. The key points to note were:

·        The draft work programme for 2013-14 for this Committee was published in the agenda papers. Members were invited to discuss the report and agree changes and amendments as necessary.

·        There was also a scoping paper for an ‘Emergency Services Review’ as agreed at Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

·        There have been further suggestions for the work programme:

o       Newham Public Sector Licensing Scheme

o       Local Authority Borrowing Cap

4.2       In discussion with officers and Members, the following key points about the work programme were noted:

·        The Committee agreed to expand the ‘Discharge into the ‘PRS/Out of Borough Procurement’ item, to a broader item called ‘Housing Supply and Demand’ that will be spread over two meetings, and will also consider inviting guests such as representatives from Crisis/other London boroughs/tenants for the evidence sessions.

·        The Committee to add an item about reviewing Lewisham’s existing housing stock to identify any potential to create additional rooms within flats or houses to address overcrowding. The Chair said that the Government has made a £100m pot of funding available for various housing investment initiatives and that more may become available in the future to convert or extend existing homes. If it does, the Council could make a bid to receive funding. Officers had requested a list of properties from Lewisham Homes which might be suitable for extensions or conversions to submit in bids when funding becomes available. The Committee would then receive an update later in the year

·        Any visits arranged for the Committee should be expanded to all Members where appropriate, or when Committee members cannot attend.

·        An item on the review of Housing Strategies and Polices will be delayed until the next municipal year. By the end of 2013-14 officers should have the necessary policy positions to begin to update the strategies and policies that are due to expire at the end of 2014.

·        The Homelessness Strategy update will be influenced by legal changes, the issue of allocations, welfare reform impacts and the policies of other boroughs in respect of homelessness.

·        An update on the Newham Public Sector Licensing Scheme will be added to the work programme, and scheduled for the October meeting, to assess its impact over the first six months.

·        The Committee agreed to the scope of the Emergency Services Review, under the terms of reference agreed in the report, in the May and June meetings. It was also suggested that representatives from Lewisham Homes and the Fire Service be invited to attend.     

5.1       Joe Dunton (Scrutiny Manager) introduced the report. The key points to note were:

·        The draft report for the Review into Low Cost Home Ownership was published in the agenda papers.

·        Amendments have been suggested for the report and its recommendations, and are listed in Appendix A.

5.2       In response to questions from the Committee, the following was noted:

·        For Recommendation 1, it was agreed that the words “all the pitfalls” be inserted, so it now reads: “Lewisham Council and partner organisations need to ensure that all residents are aware of both the benefits and all the pitfalls of choosing to buy a home through the Right to Buy Scheme.”

·        Officers would have to take legal advice on Recommendation 2, on whether the Council can limit this for leasehold properties.

·        The present Recommendation 11 is no longer required, and Recommendation 10 to be expanded to read: “The Council should explore the viability of making sites available for Self Builders. Where appropriate, this might include sites which are being considered for infill development under the Housing Matters Programme. The Council should ensure that any housing development it supports in this way adheres to CLT principles by remaining affordable and continuing to help meet local housing needs.”

·        The present Recommendation 12 should be expanded to include Community Land Trusts, as they are not only for self-builds.

·        Recommendation 13 to be amalgamated with Recommendation 10.

·        Remove specific named groups other than Credit Union from Recommendation 14.

·        Officers will look at Recommendation 15, as they do not want to duplicate work that is taking place in other organisations.

Other recommendations were suggested, and the following was noted:

·        The issue of training for self-build groups and community land trust to be added to the present Recommendation 15, so there are assurances on the competency and ability of self-build groups.

·        Self-builds should be restricted to Lewisham residents only.

Recommendations of the Low Cost Home Ownership review

The Committee would like to make the following recommendations:

[Please note, these are draft recommendations to be considered and approved by the Committee]

R1.             Lewisham Council and partner organisations need to ensure that all residents are aware of both the benefits and the pitfalls of choosing to buy a home through the Right to Buy Scheme.

R2.             Lewisham Council should explore options to limit the number of RtB leaseholders sub-letting their properties or selling them to local private landlords. This could include exploring options for charging leaseholders for renting their property in the first five years and looking at options for giving the council first refusal on the property in the event of a sale.

R3.             Lewisham Homes should promote the Cash Incentive Scheme alongside Right to Buy to ensure that tenants are aware of all the options available to them.

R4.             Lewisham Council and partner organisations need to ensure that all residents are aware of both the benefits and the pitfalls of choosing to buy a home through a Shared Ownership / Shared Equity scheme.

R5.             The Housing Select Committee support the South East London Housing Partnership in their efforts to maintain a portal website to make it easier for residents to navigate the range of Shared Ownership / Equity options available locally.

R6.             Lewisham Council and partner organisations should consider promoting all Low Cost Home Ownership options together so that Right to Buy and Shared Ownership/Shared Equity so residents can make an informed comparison between the various options available to them. Additionally potential homeowners could be reminded of the responsibilities that come with home ownership generally.

R7.             Lewisham Council should measure the demand / interest in self build locally

R8.             Lewisham Council should promote the Mayor of London’s “Build your own home – the London Way” and the Community Right to Build funding pots to local residents who are interested in self build.

R9.             Lewisham Council should work with local partners such as the credit union to open up new finance options for any potential Self Build / Custom Build projects in the borough.

R10.           Lewisham Council should explore all options for providing appropriate affordable land to Self Build projects that help meet local housing needs.

R11.           Lewisham Council should re-explore the sites that have been considered for infill development under the Housing Matters Programme with a view to making any suitable sites available to self builders.

R12.           Lewisham Council should explore a Community Land Trust as an option for releasing land for self build projects, low cost sale and/or social housing rent.

R13.           Lewisham Council should re-explore the sites that have been considered for infill development under the Housing Matters Programme and any other potential sites with a view to making any suitable sites available to groups wishing to set up a Community Land Trust.

R14.           Lewisham Council should work with partners such as the Credit Union or other Community Development Finance Institutions to open up new  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5a

Revised Recommendation of the

Low Cost Home Ownership Review

Recommendations

The Committee would like to make the following recommendations:

R1.             Lewisham Council and partner organisations need to ensure that all residents are aware of both the benefits and all the pitfalls of choosing to buy a home through the Right to Buy Scheme.

R2.             Lewisham Council should explore options to limit the number of RtB leaseholders sub-letting their properties or selling them to local private landlords. This could include exploring options for charging leaseholders for renting their property in the first five years and looking at options for giving the council first refusal on the property in the event of a sale.

R3.             Lewisham Homes should promote the Cash Incentive Scheme alongside Right to Buy to ensure that tenants are aware of all the options available to them.

R4.             Lewisham Council and partner organisations need to ensure that all residents are aware of both the benefits and all the pitfalls of choosing to buy a home through a Shared Ownership / Shared Equity scheme.

R5.             The Housing Select Committee support the South East London Housing Partnership in their efforts to maintain a portal website to make it easier for residents to navigate the range of Shared Ownership / Equity options available locally.

R6.             Lewisham Council and partner organisations should consider promoting all low cost home ownership options together so residents can make an informed comparison between the various options available to them. Additionally potential homeowners should be reminded of the responsibilities that come with home ownership generally.

R7.             Lewisham Council should measure the demand / interest in self build locally

R8.             Lewisham Council should promote the Mayor of London’s “Build your own home – the London Way” and the Community Right to Build funding pots to local residents who are interested in self build.

R9.             Lewisham Council should work with local partners such as the credit union to open up new finance options for any potential Self Build / Custom Build projects in the borough.

R10.           The Council should explore the viability of making sites available for Self Builders. Where appropriate, this might include sites which have been considered for infill development under the Housing Matters Programme. The Council should ensure that any housing development it supports in this way adheres to CLT principles by remaining affordable and continuing to help meet local housing needs.

R11.           Lewisham Council should ensure that any investment of resources, whether land, capital or officer time by the Council into a CLT, self build project, or other low cost home ownership option is justified with reference to meeting council objectives in meeting local housing needs.

R12.           Where the Council has invested it’s resources it should ensure that it is  able to nominate existing tenants from the housing register for participation in self build groups or for finished properties, where these are provided.

R13.           The Council may need to establish, in partnership with CLTs and other Housing Providers, a separate register of local residents who  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5b

6.1             Jeff Endean (Programme Manager – Housing Matters) introduced the report. The key points to note were:

·        On 16 January 2013 Mayor and Cabinet agreed that the Council should commence consultation regarding four potential new build schemes as part of the Housing Matters programme, for which a target of delivering at least 250 new homes in the next five years had been set.

·        Following the creation of the target of 250 new homes, officers reviewed potential sites on which those homes might be built. Pollard Thomas Edwards architects were appointed to test the feasibility of building on 13 sites, and where appropriate to develop outline designs for new housing provision. Drivers Jonas Deloitte was also appointed to assess the financial viability of the options being developed.

·        At the Housing Select Committee meeting of 8 January 2013, and subsequently at the Mayor and Cabinet meeting of 16 January 2013, the early progress in undertaking this work was reported, and it was recommended that officers commence consultation with residents on four of the 13 sites under consideration. These sites offered the potential of up to 76 new homes.

·        The four sites that have been identified and being consulted on, are:

o       Mercator Road, Lee Green

o       Wood Vale, Forest Hill

o       Dacre Park/Boone Street, Blackheath

o       Longfield Crescent, Forest Hill

·        Consultation events were held as well as targeted door knocking during the consultation process for each site. Distribution of statutory S105 consultation letters will take place very shortly on the Mercator Road, Lee Green site, while further work will be carried out to resolve potential issues during the consultations for the other sites.

·        The sites deemed to be non-viable at the present time are as follows:

o       Perrystreete, Forest Hill

o       Ermine Road, Ladywell

·        Chiddingstone, Lewisham Central has been identified as place designated for housing older people.

·        The following sites are currently been reviewed:

o       Home Park, Bellingham

o       Dacre Park/Boone Street (second site), Blackheath

o       Lawn Terrace, Blackheath

o       Mercator Road (second site), Lee Green

o       Achilles Street, New Cross

o       Bampton Estate, Perry Vale

·        Church Grove, Ladywell has been identified as a self-build site

6.2             In response to questions the Committee were advised:

·        The Council may come back to the ‘non-viable sites’ at a later date. The architects were unable to devise a desirable scheme that would fit with the surrounding buildings to proceed promptly, unlike the four proposed sites.

·        In the Home Park, Bellingham development, the provision of a community centre is still being explored.

·        Officers will look at recent planning judgements in Blackheath when developing options for new homes on Lawn Terrace, Blackheath, before proceeding.

·        There would be some partnership working with London & Quadrant (L&Q) if the Council is going to be able to proceed with the Bampton Estate, Perry Vale site. L&Q have performed improvements on the properties and areas where the Council have transferred property to their control.

·        Community groups have approached the Council about developing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Referral on agenda item: In-depth review into low cost home ownership: draft report and recommendations.

The Committee recommends that:

• That the In-depth review into low cost home ownership report be agreed, after the suggestions to amend the report and recommendations are made.

Referral on agenda item: In-depth review into low cost home ownership: draft report and recommendations.

The Committee recommends that:

• That the In-depth review into low cost home ownership report be agreed,

after the suggestions to amend the report and recommendations are made.