Agenda item

To receive an update on the delivery of the Affordable Homes Programme.

The sub-committee received a report which provided details of changes to the Affordable Homes Programme and an update on the delivery of affordable homes in 2020/21, along with plans for 2021/22.

Members were informed that a policy intention of the Our North Tyneside Plan was to deliver more quality affordable homes.  At a meeting in October 2013, Cabinet set out a commitment to deliver 3,000 affordable homes over the following 10 years.  The programme had been a success to date, with 1650 affordable homes expected to be delivered by the end of 2020/21, including over 500 homes directly delivered by the Authority.  Delivery in the first 7 years of the Affordable Homes Programme was more than double the number of affordable homes delivered in the 10 years prior to the commencement of the programme.

Building on the success of the programme and considering the external challenges including the global pandemic, Cabinet, at a meeting in January 2021, approved a report ‘Supporting the Ambition for the Borough through Housing Growth’.  The plan provided an extension to the Affordable Homes Programme to align delivery to the Local Plan in 2032.  The revised plan increased the delivery target from 3,000 homes to 4,000 new homes.  The Cabinet also approved an ambitious 10-year delivery plan for the Council that would see a further 350 new affordable homes directly delivered or empty homes brough back into use and around £50.000m worth of investment.

In 2020/21, 90 new affordable homes will have been delivered.  This figure was significantly lower than originally planned, due to delays to delivery caused by the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in 2020.  A full breakdown of the overall delivery programme was appended to the report.  This included the number of houses delivered: directly by the Council; working with registered/care providers; by the North Tyneside Trading Company and via Empty Homes.

The sub-committee was informed of the challenges to delivery that were in place.  It was noted that the largest volume of homes within the programme were delivered by private developers who were subject to ever changing market conditions.  The decision on when to bring forward large sites was not within the Authority’s direct control and initial assumptions of when the strategic sites at the Murton Gap and Killingworth Moor had to be reprofiled with the planning application not coming forward as quickly as expected.  Aligning the Affordable Homes Programme to the Local Plan would allow for greater certainty of delivery numbers by developers. 

The unprecedented global pandemic had led to construction work halting across the country and there have been delays due to ongoing social distancing requirements on construction sites and problems throughout the supply chain.  Whilst the construction sector had shown considerable resilience to the situation and housing market had rebounded due to pent up demand, it was likely that the economic volatility, high unemployment and continued uncertainty would make it difficult to accurately predict delivery in the short-term.

A member of the sub-committee asked the presenting officer how North Tyneside compared to its regional neighbours in the delivery of Affordable Homes.  It was highlighted that it was difficult to make any direct comparisons as the Housing Revenue Accounts of local authorities differed, but that data could be circulated to members of the sub-committee setting out the numbers of Affordable Homes delivered by other local authorities within the region.  Members also asked the officer to provide a breakdown of house types delivered by the Authority. 

Following a question from a member of the sub-committee, there was some discussion around new methods of construction, i.e. prefabricated and modular and if these had been considered in the delivery of Affordable Homes.  It was noted that these methods had been looked at but there was no indication that this would be more affordable to deliver, especially in dealing with sites with small numbers, as modular builds were more efficient with larger sites.

The Chair thanked the officer for their attendance and the information presented.