Agenda item - Housing Revenue Account Business Plan 2017/18 Onwards

- Report to follow.

* RESOLVED –

1. That the current financial position of the Housing Revenue Account be noted.

2. That the Stock Condition Survey report be noted.

3. That the potential changes to investment arising from the Stock Condition Survey, and the emerging areas of work to reshape the financial strategy be noted, and that it be agreed for further work to be undertaken on the strategy ahead of further Cabinet decisions in February 2018.

4. That the work of the Housing Revenue Account Steering Group be continued to monitor the Housing Revenue Account, and that further reports are brought to members on an annual basis or as a result of changes in national housing policy.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

1. To deliver a balanced and sustainable Housing Revenue Account that is self-financing in the longer term.

2. To support the Council’s Vision and Priorities within the Council Plan.

The Assistant Director – Housing presented a report to Cabinet to update members on the position of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and various developments that had taken place over the last year, in particular the results of the Council’s Housing Stock Condition Survey.

The report noted the recommendations of the HRA Steering Group to the Corporate Cabinet and Corporate Management Team in December 2016, and the work subsequently carried out by various working groups comprised of tenants, officers and elected members to consider in greater detail how the recommended savings could be achieved.

Members were informed that the consultation programme with tenants on the revised Tenancy Agreement had ended on 3 December 2017, and that a report setting out the results would be presented to Cabinet on 30 January 2018.

A Stock Condition Survey on 960 properties in Chesterfield was carried out by Savills in Spring 2017. The results confirmed that 100 per cent of the Council’s housing stock fully complies with the Decent Homes Standard, which compared favourably with a national average of 14 per cent failure.

It was reported that the estimated investment required to maintain the housing stock to the Decent Homes Standard over the next 30 years was £19,347,309 per annum. This cost included the works to the remaining non-traditional housing stock that had not yet received any work following the 2014 Non-Traditional Housing Stock Condition Survey.

A revised version of the HRA Business Plan model had been prepared for 2017/18, taking into account the outcome of the Stock Condition Survey, and this was set out at Appendix 2 to the officer’s report.

The Assistant Director – Housing advised Cabinet that forecast surpluses within the HRA had given the Council the opportunity to realise its ambition of delivering up to 100 new homes over the next 5 years. It was noted that this would help to ensure that the Government’s expectation on local authorities to deliver new homes could be addressed, and that more affordable homes could be made available to local residents.