Agenda item

(a)  That officers establish a corporate working group to fully develop an outline business case for establishing a Subsidiary Housing Company (SHC), or other vehicle, to develop, acquire, manage and sell market and affordable cross tenure properties to assist in meeting local housing need.

(b)  That an ‘invest to save’ bid is approved to fund initial specialist, legal and financial advice up to a maximum of £50,000.

(c)  That a further report is brought to the July Cabinet meeting with an outline business case, including financial modelling and, if appropriate, indicative timescales for the launch of the company.

The Assistant Director Housing and Environment introduced a report setting out the options for the potential establishment of a subsidiary housing company and seeking approval to progress the plans to the next stage.

The Cabinet was advised that the ‘freedoms and flexibilities’ provided by the Localism Act 2011 gave local authorities the opportunity to explore new arrangements to maximise the value of their assets.  This included the potential establishment of a subsidiary housing company, or another special purpose vehicle, to develop and rent or sell properties on existing council owned land.  Members were advised of the circumstances in which such development may be appropriate, which included for example smaller or difficult sites of less than 20 units, and the dual benefit of bringing forward development to meet housing need and maximising the financial benefit of the asset to the Council.  Commissioners were asked to approve the establishment of a corporate working group to further investigate the options and to approve an ‘invest to save’ bid of up to £50,000 for specialist legal and financial advice. 

Members discussed a range of potential activities within the scope of a subsidiary housing company and it was noted that these would form part of the feasibility work to be undertaken.  It was agreed to proceed with the necessary work on the outline business case and a further report would be brought to the Cabinet in July 2014.

Resolved –

(a)  That officers establish a corporate working group to fully develop an outline business case for establishing a Subsidiary Housing Company (SHC), or other vehicle, to develop, acquire, manage and sell market and affordable cross tenure properties to assist in meeting local housing need.

(b)  That an ‘invest to save’ bid be approved to fund initial specialist, legal and financial advice up to a maximum of £50,000.

(c)  That a further report be brought to the July Cabinet meeting with an outline business case, including financial modelling and, if appropriate, indicative timescales for the launch of the company.