To consider a report that presents a headline business case for the purchase of properties on the open market suitable for temporary and re-settlement accommodation, utilising approved council funds and funds recently offered to the authority by government.

N.B.  Appendix A is Exempt.

i)    That participation in the Local Authority Housing Fund Round 3 programme be agreed, with a view to bringing 12 properties into the council’s ownership to meet short, medium and long-term housing needs within the district.

ii)    That the approach to the spend of the funds, including type, priority location and delivery approach, as articulated within this report be approved.

iii)   That the Assistant Director of Strategic Growth & Development, in conjunction with the Portfolio Holder for Communities and Better Ageing be delegated authority to finalise and agree the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the LAHF Round 3 programme with DLUHC and:

iv)   That the 2024/25 capital programme, as set out in Appendix 2, be amended to reflect the LAHF 3 funds and recommended to Full Council.

That Council be recommended to approve;

i)    The Council’s 2024/25 capital programme to be amended to include the £1.067m in Local Authority Housing Fund Round 3 funds, taking the council’s total capital budget for temporary accommodation investment to £2.067m.

A report was presented to seek agreement and approval of the delivery of the ELDC Temporary Accommodation Programme Utilising the £1million funding allocated through the Council’s Capital Programme and the award of DLUHC LAHF 3 funding for Temporary and Resettlement homes.

The report presented a headline business case for the purchase of properties on the open market suitable for temporary and re-settlement accommodation, utilising approved council funds and funds recently offered to the authority by government.

In September 2023, Executive Board agreed to provide £1m to increase the Council’s temporary accommodation (TA) stock.  Subsequent to this decision, Full Council approved the amendment to the 2023/24 Capital Programme budget to include this provision.

More recently, the Council had been notified by DLUHC of the award of £1.067m grant in response to its Local Authority Housing Fund Round 3 expression of interest for the delivery of further re-settlement homes and temporary accommodation units.

This report sought approval to take part in the LAHF Round 3 programme, accept the associated funds, agree a strategy for their spend, amend the council’s capital programme, and seek delegation to officers to agree the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding between the authority and MHCLG in relation to the LAHF funding.

During his introduction, the Portfolio Holder for Communities and Better Ageing provided detail into the background of the report and highlighted the following key information:

·       Analysis had defined a need to bring about an increase in the supply of one bed self-contained temporary accommodation properties as a priority investment.  Current figures showed that out of 1700 registered on the housing register, 826 of those required one bed accommodation;

·       The options explored for the delivery of one bed temporary accommodation homes was:

(a)            New Build Properties

(b)            Purchasing Existing Satisfactory Properties

(c)             Conversion of Bed and Breakfasts or Guest Houses

(d)            Conversion of Existing Properties

After exploring the options available option D was considered the most appropriate solution to meet the identified needs.

·     Planning policy on flood risk may require a variation to the approach in Skegness where ground floor sleeping accommodation was not permitted; therefore alternative consideration would be given to the acquisition of smaller 2-bed properties with first floor sleeping accommodation.

During discussion, the Portfolio Holder for Coastal Economy commented that it was sensible for the Council to buy and operate its own stock rather than using bed and breakfast for temporary accommodation.

The Leader of the Council added that the reality and sensitivity of homelessness over recent months had highlighted that as a Council this was dealt with very well and passed his thanks to both the Portfolio Holder for Communities and Better Ageing and the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships together with the officer team for how this had been handled.

RESOLVED

i)    That participation in the Local Authority Housing Fund Round 3 programme be agreed, with a view to bringing 12 properties into the council’s ownership to meet short, medium and long-term housing needs within the district.

ii)    That the approach to the spend of the funds, including type, priority location and delivery approach, as articulated within this report be approved.

iii)   That the Assistant Director of Strategic Growth & Development, in conjunction with the Portfolio Holder for Communities and Better Ageing be delegated authority to finalise and agree the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the LAHF Round 3 programme with DLUHC and:

iv)   That the 2024/25 capital programme, as set out in Appendix 2, be amended to reflect the LAHF 3 funds and recommended to Full Council.

That Council be recommended to approve;

i)    The Council’s 2024/25 capital programme to be amended to include the £1.067m in Local Authority Housing Fund Round 3 funds, taking the council’s total capital budget for temporary accommodation investment to £2.067m.

Reasons

1.               To deliver the programme to increase the supply of Council owned general fund temporary accommodation and re-settlement homes following the allocation of £1m Council funding and a further £1.067m grant towards the LAHF programme.

2.               To meet short term needs of homeless households within East Lindsey district.

3.               To increase the number of homes owned by the authority and enable the authority to directly deliver housing solutions to issues within the district.

4.               To enable the authority to act swiftly to secure the acquisition of suitable properties identified to meet the needs of residents of the district.

5.               Reduce the need to use costly bed and breakfast accommodation as temporary accommodation.

Other Options

Do nothing - In this event the authority would not proceed with the purchase of properties. As a consequence, the expected benefits set out in the Reasons for Recommendations section of this report would not be realised with no increase in housing supply in the district achieved to address need.

Alternative properties – Officers considered a range of options on the types of property that could be acquired to deliver temporary and resettlement homes. Following evaluation of these and taking account of cost, size, location, flexibility, management implications and general suitability, the preferred options set out in the report have been arrived at. The option to acquire new build homes for further Re-settlement homes and suitable second-hand properties on the market for conversion to 1-bed homes are considered the most appropriate way to deliver the programme.

N.B.  Emily Spicer, Assistant Director Wellbeing and Community Leadership and Matthew Hogan, Assistant Director Strategic Growth and Development left the Meeting at 6.55pm.