New homes new environment Clare Tostevin and Mike Owen Building into the Future Delivering Excellent Services Clare Tostevin Head of New Business and Regeneration Rochdale Boroughwide Housing
Delivering Excellent Services Why? Need numbers and quality Ongoing management Understanding communities Place-making and management Delivering Excellent Services Why? (cont d) Meeting housing need Quality and sustainability Replacing stock lost through Right to Buy Replacing obsolete stock Income for ALMO
Delivering Excellent Services What? ALMOs collectively are delivering: New homes Refurbished homes Social rented Shared ownership Value for money Code for Sustainable Homes Levels 3 and 4 Supporting local jobs in construction Delivering Excellent Services How? Funding Homes and Communities Agency grant Prudential borrowing Council capital funding Free council land Cross-subsidy from sale
Delivering Excellent Services How? (cont d) Structures Direct development by ALMO Charitable subsidiary Delivering local authority new build Delivering previous registered provider schemes Delivering Excellent Services Outcomes jobs Jobs Local employment Links into local economic and training partnerships, matching and building skills, apprenticeships
Delivering Excellent Services Outcomes homes Homes Environmental standards Design quality Delivering Excellent Services Outcomes communities Communities Strategic partners strategic priorities Supporting communities through regeneration Understanding local needs Type of stock Size of homes
Delivering Excellent Services A tale of two schemes Part one: Croft Street, Rochdale North Urban Low land values Developed via ALMO charitable subsidiary Delivering Excellent Services Croft Street Garages Bungalows not meeting decent homes RBH demolition Returning residents involved in design
Delivering Excellent Services Ground-breaking Started September 2009 22 new homes Four family houses 18 bungalows Lifetime homes Sustainable homes Due to complete September 2010 Delivering Excellent Services Click Brighter to edit Horizons Master title programme Two homes at Croft St on site Refurbishment of five ex Right to Buys completed Six bungalows at Dover St on site 36 homes supporting Kirkholt regeneration HCA funding frozen Six larger family homes HCA funding frozen Future sites identified Strategic regeneration areas
Creating homes in a new funding environment Mike Owen Carrick Housing Building into the Future Workshop to cover 1. Carrick Housing programme to date 2. Lessons from our tenant conference 3. LGA/CLG New Build Commission 4. New era funding options
Sites identified by Council in 2007 Garage site
Tregundy Rd, Perranporth 3 x two-bed house 1 x three-bed house 1x four-bed house Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3 Funding Anticipated scheme cost 770,000 (QS build cost est. 712,000) Actual cost 660,000 (contract sum 556,620) HCA grant 245,000 Council capital contribution 175,000 Net funding shortfall 240,000 (36%) Borrowing 50 years PWLB
The process March 2008 feasibility commissioned July 2008 Cabinet agreement in principle Aug 2008 planning granted for five units Jan 2009 tenders received Jan 2009 HCA grant approval March 2009 revised planning application submitted March 2009 grant agreement signed July 2009 land transfer completed Aug 2009 start on site March 2010 completion and occupation Why an ALMO? Respected local manager Registered provider from outside area stalled on the scheme Local parish and local councillors wanted the ALMO to manage localism localism localism
Modest programme using available land and mixed finance options Crown Crescent St, Newlyn East two-unit infill Falmouth Tavern 11-unit scheme on site of old pub in the heart of a council estate Laburnum Close, Falmouth six-unit scheme on under-utilised car park Constantine 12 units in rural village HRA schemes Falmouth Kitchens site eight units Tresillian 16 units but frozen Kilkhampton four units but frozen Modest programme using available land and mixed finance options (cont d) Scheme No of units Type of scheme Funding source Crown Crescent St, Newlyn 2 units Infill between council properties Falmouth Tavern 11 units Rebuild on cleared pub on council estate SHG and Section 106 receipt SHG and receipt from HRA disposal Laburnum Close, Falmouth 6 units Infill on old car park Receipt from HRA disposal Constantine 12 units Rural exception scheme SHG direct to Galliford Try purchase using prudential borrowing on completion Falmouth Kitchens 8 units New build on General Fund land Receipt from HRA disposal Kilkhampton 4 units Infill on unused HRA land Tresillian 16 units GF site on edge of rural village Building Britain's Future frozen Building Britain's Future frozen
Lessons from tenant conference Keep building - Real enthusiasm for new build Dealing with nimbyism - Early consultation - Consult parish councils - Possible forum of independent tenants to make decisions - No one has a right to deny others a decent home Involve tenants in design Lessons from tenant conference (cont d) Land usage Funding Some tenants suggested potential sites they knew of Derelict land, car parks, boat storage areas, land on existing estates Some suggested we should approach large land owners Compromise expensive standards so that we can build more homes Appetite for selling houses with high future costs Tenants want to utilise all receipts for new build and under self-financing allocate any underspend in year to new build
New Build Commission Established by CLG and LGA to run over elections Chaired by Lord Best Members include Professors Tony Travers, and Steve Wilcox, Nick Raynsford, Laing, Joanne Rooney Looking at issues on delivery, legislation, the market, best practice, best use of resources Reporting in late summer New Build Commission (cont d) Key messages so far The market is very tough Uncertainty over funding and planning law is delaying scheme Land values are so low most schemes outside SE need subsidy in some form LAs are doing a good but very limited job LA and ALMO balance sheets are under-geared Registered provider can subsidise the current grant cuts
Funding options for ALMO SHG There will be new build Grant Shapps But the economy is our only priority Self-financing Extra 6m borrowing capacity for Cornwall Might be only deal on the table Cross-subsidy Building for outright sales Increased risk versus reduced reliance on grant Tenure mix Intermediate rent/market rent/shared ownership Asset sales Disposal of expensive to maintain but valuable asset. Our sale of New Court flats funded more bed spaces Freedoms to make decisions locally Loan finance Council loans lower than market (4.63%) ALMOs searching for new models to borrow outside of net public debt