Agenda item - Homeless Move On - Hollingbury Library proposals

Report of the Executive Director Neighbourhoods, Communities & Housing (copy attached)

RESOLVED: That the Committee approved an indicative budget of £3.115m financed by HRA borrowing and Homes England funding to form part of the HRA capital programme for 2019/20.

149.1         The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director Neighbourhoods, Communities & Housing, concerning a final viable scheme for the Hollingbury Library site. The Committee were advised that due to purdah the consultation on the scheme would commence in May 2019 rather than April 2019.

149.2         Councillor Bell said he fully supported the proposals but had a number of questions. He noted that the report referred to what would happen ‘if the scheme did not go ahead’ and asked under what circumstances that may happen and what the alternatives would be. The funding for 2019/20 would come from the Health & Adult Social Care budget, and asked where the funding would come from after that. The HRA would be funding the purchase of the site, but where would the rent be paid to, and asked for the direction of travel as there was a mixture of HRA and Adult Social Care funding, and which policy would be used to allocate places. The Chair advised that the budget for Health & Adult Social Care after 2019/20 was not yet known, but the intention was that it would continue. The Executive Director Neighbourhoods, Communities & Housing said that if the scheme did not go ahead it would still be a site which the HRA owned and they could decide what to do with it. The site would remain an HRA asset unless this committee decided to sell it back to the General Fund. The Council would provide the tenancies, the support is provided by Adult Social Care, and the allocations would be made under our housing policies. People who would be allocated places would have been in our hostels for some time. Adult Social Care would be responsible for the service users. Rents paid would go to the HRA. The Chair noted the benefits to those who had been in hostels for a long time, who would get the support they need. The committee were advised that the tenants would be those who required low to medium levels of support.

149.3         Councillor Bell referred to staff office hours, and was concerned that 24 hour support was not provided. The Executive Director Neighbourhoods, Communities & Housing said that there wasn’t the budget for 24 hour support. Places would be allocated by a panel. Support would be monitored and if additional support was needed that the provision would be amended.

149.4         Councillor Miller noted that the Financial Implications gave two different figures for funding from the HRA of £2.425m and £2.75m and asked which one was correct. There had been a grant of £750k from the government and he asked when that had been received, and noted that as one of the units would be used as an office that sum would be reduced to £690k, and if it would be possible to not have an office and have 13 rather than 12 units. The Executive Director Neighbourhoods, Communities & Housing said that £2.425m was the correct figure. With regard to when the funding was received, officers weren’t sure but thought it may have been 2016. The intention was to have an office within the development as it was preferable to have a space where residents could speak to staff away from their own room.

149.5         The Chair noted that the figure of £2.425m was correct rather than £2.75m and asked for clarification on the figure within Recommendation 2.2, and referred to paragraph 3.13 which gave the total funding of the development as £3.115m. The Executive Director Neighbourhoods, Communities & Housing said that the amount of borrowing was £2.245m, but the total cost of the scheme was £3.115m. Therefore recommendation 2.2 should read £3.115m rather than £2.75m.

149.6         The Chair confirmed that Recommendation 2.2 should now read

                   ‘Approve an indicative budget of £3.115m financed by HRA borrowing and Homes England funding to form part of the HRA capital programme for 2019/20.’

149.7         Councillor Janio said he may vote against this as he wanted to ensure that officers would keep Councillors updated on each stage as the scheme progressed.

149.8         RESOLVED: That the Committee approved an indicative budget of £3.115m financed by HRA borrowing and Homes England funding to form part of the HRA capital programme for 2019/20.