Agenda item

Eamon Lally, Principal Policy Adviser, introduced this report which provides a summary of the key elements of the Budget 2017 proposals and how they fit with the Government’s wider agenda.

Eamon stressed that following direction from the Board, the LGA is undertaking a range of activity focusing on ensuring homes with planning permission are built.

Eamon clarified for the Board that the current LGA policy is that all funds achieved through right to buy sales are returned to local authorities to enable them to replenish the housing stock.

Discussion

In the discussion which followed, these points were made:

·         Members stressed the need for upfront investment from developers in the infrastructure before we build new homes otherwise current infrastructural capacity will not be able to cope.

·         Members also expressed their concern of developers building upwards and the fact that there is no section 106 attached to this.

·         Members requested further analysis on 16.4 which mentioned the further £1.5 billion for the Home Building Fund, providing loans specifically targeted at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises who struggle to access finance to build.

·         Members raised their concerns relating to landbanking where developers delay building to maximise their profits. They agreed it would be beneficial to establish clarity on what ‘start on site’ actually means, national guidance of this would be very useful.

·         On landbanking members stressed the difference between land scale schemes and smaller ones. They feared that smaller schemes will not be the focus of the Letwin Review yet these are the ones which cause the most difficulty for local authorities.

Decision

The Environment, Economy, Housing and Transport Board members considered and provided steer on future LGA activity as set out in paragraphs 14, 19 and 24.

The Board agreed to the proposals in paragraph 14.

The Board agreed to the proposals in paragraph 19.

The Board agreed to the proposals in paragraph 24.

Action

Cllr Rachel Blake explained that in her authority of Tower Hamlets they have some very good officers working on Viability. Officers to hold conversations about the possibility of officers from Tower Hamlets presenting at a future Board.