Issue - meetings

This report seeks approval to utilise £50,000 of the funding allocated to the LAHF3 programme, in order to facilitate the renovation of a Town & Country Housing (TCH) property in Epsom and thereby ensure the property can continue to be utilised for settled accommodation by applicants nominated from the Council’s housing register.

Following consideration the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Authorise the sum of £50,000 from the funding allocated to the LAHF3 programme, to be spent to facilitate the renovation of a 3-bedroom Town & Country Housing property in Epsom.

(2)      Nominate and authorise the Director of Environment, Housing and Regeneration to negotiate and sign the relevant legal agreements associated with the Grant, further to consultation with the Chair of Strategy and Resources and the Council’s chief financial and chief legal officers.

The Committee received a report seeking approval to utilise £50,000 of the funding allocated to the LAHF3 programme, in order to facilitate the renovation of a Town & Country Housing (TCH) property in Epsom and thereby ensure the property can continue to be utilised for settled accommodation by applicants nominated from the Council’s housing register.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Legal Agreement and Investment Protection. The Head of Housing and Community informed the Committee of a correction to paragraphs 5.1 and 7.2 of the report as TCH had requested that a Council veto on the future sale of the property be excluded from the legal agreement. The Committee was informed that the legal agreement would ensure the council's £50,000 investment is repaid, with an uplift reflecting any increase in property value, should the property be sold in the future.

b)            Programme Delivery and Risk of Repayment. In response to a question from a member, the Head of Housing and Community informed the Committee that any unspent funds would be returned to the Ministry on a pro-rata basis. The Committee noted that current property purchases had been at or below the per-unit funding allocation and that as a result there was not a risk of having to return funds which had been used.

Following consideration the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Authorise the sum of £50,000 from the funding allocated to the LAHF3 programme, to be spent to facilitate the renovation of a 3-bedroom Town & Country Housing property in Epsom.

(2)      Nominate and authorise the Director of Environment, Housing and Regeneration to negotiate and sign the relevant legal agreements associated with the Grant, further to consultation with the Chair of Strategy and Resources and the Council’s chief financial and chief legal officers.