Issue details

Community Led Housing Grant Application

 

 

Background

 

In December 2016, the government announced a new annual fund of £60m to help councils tackle the problems of high levels of second home ownership in their communities, which impacts on the housing supply. This funding is called The Community Housing Fund, its purpose is to put local groups in the driving seat and help them deliver affordable housing through community initiatives, such as Community Land Trusts. South Cambridgeshire District Council received £50,329 grant funding and Cambridge City Council also received a similar amount.

 

Both councils commissioned CLT East to provide specialist advice and support to help local communities bring forward affordable housing schemes. As part of the funding received, grants of £4,500 are being offered to help seed-fund set up costs for local communities.  The grants are allocated on a first come-first served basis if they meet the criteria set out below.

 

Purpose

 

To approve an application for grant funding received from Waterbeach CLT for a grant of £4,500 to cover legal and regulatory fees associated with drafting a governing document and legally incorporating itself as a formal body.  The grant will also help fund community engagement work (for example, organising public meetings/events, establishing a website, printing and other costs associated with community engagement and marketing).  Any surplus of funding will go towards calls for land, viability assessments, site evaluations, business planning and feasibility studies. 

 

Whilst the Waterbeach CLT are keen to bring forward some of the affordable housing on the large Urban & Civic development, if this is not achievable, alternative affordable housing schemes will be sought.

 

As funding is limited, applications are considered and prioritised based on an assessment criteria.  The application has been assessed by Council Officers and CLT East and meets the criteria set out below.  There are no other applications to be considered at this time.   A summary of the assessment is listed below:

 

Assessment Criteria

 

Deliverability of the scheme, this includes whether land is identified

Waterbeach CLT have had some early discussions with Urban & Civic with regards to providing some of the affordable housing on the strategic site.  Whilst the Council will work with both parties on this initiative, it will only be supportive so long as it is not detrimental to the overall supply of affordable housing.

 

Other potential rural exception sites are identified throughout the village and will be evaluated.

Delivery timescales

Short term (next 6 months)

  • Support the Neighbourhood Planning Group to draft supportive housing policies.
  • Legally establish the CLT.
  • Hold a public launch event.
  • Build the membership of the CLT.
  • Ongoing engagement with Urban & Civic – working towards a memorandum of understanding.
  • Continue to explore alternative sites for the CLT.
  • Begin to gather expressions of interest.
  • Outline business plan and identify resources, consultants, employees which may need to put in place to support the project.

 

Medium term (up to 3 years)

  • Have submitted a planning application and receive planning permission
  • Commence build of first phase pilot scheme.
  • Continue to identify opportunities for CLT.

Housing need, priority will be given in areas where there is a high level of identified housing need

A Housing Needs Survey was completed by Cambridgeshire ACRE in 2010, which identified the need for an additional 168 affordable homes.  Whilst this report was some time ago, house and rental prices have continued to increase in Waterbeach and low-medium level wages and salaries have not increased by anywhere near the same degree, with many remaining stagnant.  The latest SCDC Housing Statistical Information (Dec 2017) indicates 148 households on the Housing Register with a Waterbeach connection.

Do the proposals support a Neighbourhood Plan

Waterbeach CLT and Waterbeach Neighbourhood Plan will work independently but complement one another.  Two of the Trustees are involved in drafting Waterbeach Neighbourhood Plan and there is already ongoing engagement between the Neighbourhood Plan Group, Parish Council and future CLT.  The CLT will support the Neighbourhood Plan in drafting its housing policies to ensure that they are supportive towards the CLT ambitions.

 

 

Decision type: Non-key

Decision status: Recommendations Approved (subject to call-in)

Wards affected: Waterbeach (pre-2018);

Notice of proposed decision first published: 22/08/2018

Decision due: 22 September 2018 by Lead Cabinet member for Housing

Lead member: Cllr Hazel Smith, Lead Cabinet member for Housing cllr.smithhm@scambs.gov.uk

Lead director: Alex Colyer

Contact: Julie Fletcher, Service Manager – Housing Strategy Email: julie.fletcher@scambs.gov.uk Tel: 01954 713352.

Consultees

District Councillors Waterbeach & Milton Ward – Cllr Anna Bradnam, Cllr Hazel Smith and Cllr Judith Rippeth .  Councillor Hazel Smith has indicated that she is supportive of the grant to help seed fund the Waterbeach CLT, on the proviso that their work is not solely focused on the large strategic sites.  No other comments have been received in terms of consultation responses.

Agenda items

Documents

  • No documents