Issue - meetings

That Cabinet:

a)      approve the Business Case for the acquisition of 20, S106 properties at Rainworth from Arkwood Developments Ltd;

b)      approve that delegated authority be granted to the Director - Housing, Health & Wellbeing, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing, to finalise terms (including, but not limited to property type and specification) and enter into contract with Arkwood Developments Ltd. for the purchase of 20 x S106 properties on the terms set out in exempt Appendix 1; and

c)      approve that the Capital programme for Phase 6 of the new build programme is increased by £200,000 to £11,150,000 financed as shown in the table at 3.3.

The Business Manager - Healthy Places presented a report which set out the business case for the acquisition of twenty S106 housing units at Rainworth. The Council had been approached by Arkwood Developments with an opportunity to purchase off-plan, twenty of the S106 properties to be delivered by the company at Rainworth. The report and exempt appendix set out the business case for the acquisition of those properties. The report demonstrated that there was demand for the units in question, that it provided value for money and that there was a strategic justification for the Council intervening in this particular development.

AGREED      (unanimously) that Cabinet:

a)            approve the Business Case for the acquisition of 20, S106 properties at Rainworth from Arkwood Developments Ltd;

b)            approve that delegated authority be granted to the Director - Housing, Health & Wellbeing, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing, to finalise terms (including, but not limited to property type and specification) and enter into contract with Arkwood Developments Ltd. for the purchase of 20 x S106 properties on the terms set out in exempt Appendix 1; and

c)             approve that the Capital programme for Phase 6 of the new build programme is increased by £200,000 to £11,150,000 financed as shown in the table at 3.3 of the report.

Reasons for Decision

This recommendation aligns with the Council’s ambition to increase the supply of housing, in particular decent homes that residents can afford to buy and rent, as well as improving housing standards.

The recommendation also supports the Councils Commercial Strategy 2022-26 through the support of its Arm’s Length Development Company.

Options Considered

The alternative option is to not purchase the S106 properties from Arkwood Developments Ltd.  This alternative has been discounted further to the rationale set out in the business case, section two of this report.