Decision:
RESOLVED – That the sum of £263,000 of the s106 affordable housing spent outside of the Parish of Cranbrook be transferred back to the former Kent and Sussex hospital contribution to be earmarked for the provision of affordable housing in the Parish of Cranbrook be approved.
REASON FOR DECISION: The agreement to transfer the money back to the Kent and Sussex ensured that the timescales for the s106 agreement for the Cranbrook Council Office site were fulfilled and the money was used to provide affordable housing in the Borough.
In accordance with the provisions of Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 14 in Part 4 of the Constitution, the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee hereby gives prior agreement that this decision is urgent and will not be subject to call-in as delay would seriously prejudice the Council’s or the public’s interest.
Minutes:
Councillor Nancy Warne, TWBC Borough Councillor had registered to speak and made the following comments:
- A substantial amount of work was undertaken by the housing officer in trying to ensure that these funds found a suitable home that would benefit Cranbrook and Sissinghurst Parish.
- For over 3 years, the housing officer had been working to support the Parishes’ community lead initiative, The Crane Valley Land Trust, to try and deliver a local scheme that would be eligible for receipt of the s106 affordable housing commuted sum.
- The Trust had aligned all the necessary conditions to deliver a scheme that would build 17 affordable homes for local workers.
- The Trust had found a local landowner who would gift the land, had lined up a development partner, had secured funding in principle from the Government’s Community Housing Fund, had identified local workers who wished to live in the new affordable homes and had achieved support in principle from the Parish Council, the High Weald AONB and local residents.
- The Trust had been on the verge of submitting a planning application. Unfortunately, unfavourable pre planning application discussions had thwarted the work already undertaken.
- The money allocated to subsidise the affordable housing at Brick Kiln Farm in Cranbrook only allowed for the delivery of one unit at a reduced rent. Four years after this site was allocated and 27 months since outline planning condition was granted a registered housing partner had yet to be found. And none of the 35% of affordable homes had been built
- As a member of the Council’s Planning Committee both the advantages and disadvantages of any scheme must be considered. However, this decision-making process was made more difficult if the monies allocated remained with the Council and no assurance could be given that the benefits due to the Community to which they related would ever be delivered.
- As a Ward Member for Cranbrook and Benenden, the report recommendations should be supported. But this support included the following requests:
o A commitment to Cranbrook and Sissinghurst Parish Councils that £313,525.64 for affordable housing would be forthcoming once a suitable scheme was found and enabled by the Council.
o Ensure that local efforts to respond to the affordable housing crisis such as the Crane Valley Land Trust would be recognised and supported across all Portfolios.
o Enable open discussions across all Portfolios with a view to drawing up an action plan as to how to positively process not only the outstanding s106 funds of over £5m, but also future monies secured so that in the future the Cabinet is not being asked to support a last minute decision on the spending of these funds. This would ensure that the maximum benefit from developments could be secured for residents.
Lee Colyer, Director of Finance, Policy and Development introduced the report that requested approval for the transfer of £263,000 from the former Cranbrook Council Offices s106 contribution to the Kent & Sussex s106 contribution.
Discussion and responses to Members questions included the following matters:
- Recent legal advice had suggested that in moving funds from the Kent and Sussex development s106, the Council could be at risk of appearing not to have committed or spent the former Cranbrook Council offices contribution within the five-year timescale. This could result in the developer making a request that the Council repay the contribution.
- The report therefore sought agreement to transfer the £263,000 that was spent outside Cranbrook, to be put back into the Kent and Sussex contribution.
- Details related to site specifics were a matter for planning services at the appropriate time but the comments were duly noted. The purpose of this report was to ensure the protection of funds.
RESOLVED – That the sum of £263,000 of the s106 affordable housing spent outside of the Parish of Cranbrook be transferred back to the former Kent and Sussex hospital contribution to be earmarked for the provision of affordable housing in the Parish of Cranbrook be approved.
REASON FOR DECISION: The agreement to transfer the money back to the Kent and Sussex ensured that the timescales for the s106 agreement for the Cranbrook Council Office site were fulfilled and the money was used to provide affordable housing in the Borough.
In accordance with the provisions of Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 14 in Part 4 of the Constitution, the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee hereby gives prior agreement that this decision is urgent and will not be subject to call-in as delay would seriously prejudice the Council’s or the public’s interest.
Supporting documents: