Item No. Appendices 13 3
CABINET REPORT Report Title Affordable Housing Nominations Agreement
AGENDA STATUS: PUBLIC
Cabinet Meeting Date: 12th October 2011
Key Decision: Yes
Listed on Forward Plan: Yes
Within Policy: Yes
Policy Document: Yes
Directorate: Housing
Accountable Cabinet Member: Councillor Christopher Malpas
Ward(s) All
1. Purpose
1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek Cabinet approval for a jointly agreed mechanism, for the allocation of affordable housing in the Sustainable Urban Extensions (SUEs) of the Northampton Related Development Area (NRDA). (See Appendix C)
2. Recommendations
2.1 That Cabinet supports the adoption of a form of Choice Based Lettings scheme for the Sustainable Urban Extensions in the Northampton Related Development Areas. In the case that South Northamptonshire Council elect not to use Choice Based Lettings then Cabinet agrees to establish a specific Nominations Agreement between the Borough Council and South Northamptonshire Council.
3. Issues and Choices
3.1 Report Background
3.1.1 In the Spatial Strategy of the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy 11 Sustainable Urban Extensions are identified. These sites are a planned expansion of the 4 towns (Northampton, Daventry, Towcester & Brackley) that will contribute to creating a more sustainable pattern of development, with well-planned infrastructure including access to a range of facilities including housing.
3.1.2 In January 2011 a report was presented to the Joint Planning Unit (JPU) Business Sub Group, seeking direction and guidance on the approach to the provision of affordable housing on sites within the NRDA1, including the nomination rights for affordable housing. Affordable Housing is defined in Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3) as social rented, intermediate tenure such as Shared Ownership and the new Affordable Rent tenure (80% of market rent).
3.1.2 The report set out the need for the authorities to agree a mechanism for the allocation of affordable housing in the NRDA to ensure that it meets local needs
3.1.3 All three Authorities; this council, South Northamptonshire Council (SNC) and Daventry District Council (DDC) are requesting approval of these proposals at their respective cabinets.
3.2 Issues
Meeting Housing Need
3.2.1 There are currently approximately 9,000 applicants on the housing register in Northampton, of which 5385 are in priority need. The Borough Council cannot meet this need without planned growth. Working with other local authority partners, the proposed approach of option 1 and 1a will provide more affordable homes, which otherwise would not have been available to people in Northampton.
3.2.2 It is also worth noting that affordable homes delivery in Northampton has reduced from 432 new homes in 2009/10 to a target of only 100 this year.
3.2.3 Access to additional affordable homes will improve the range of housing options for the people of Northampton.
3.3 Choices (Options)
1 The Northampton Related Development Area (NRDA) is defined in the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy as: The whole of Northampton Borough Council’s administrative area; Those neighbouring parts of Daventry and South Northamptonshire Councils’ administrative areas where ‘development related to the growth of Northampton’ has already been completed or has planning permission or an approval in principle; and Those neighbouring parts of Daventry District and South Northamptonshire Councils’ administrative areas that are allocated for Sustainable Urban Extensions.
Jmd/committees/cabinet report template/04/10/11 2 3.3.1 At the meeting of the Housing and Planning Group on the 20th January 2011, it was agreed that a discussion paper would be written outlining the main options for allocating properties within the Sustainable Urban Extensions (SUE) of the Northampton Related Development Area. SUE’s are large sites earmarked for residential development, and several of these fall within the boundaries of Daventry DC and South Northamptonshire Council. The paper was subsequently discussed by the Group, which set out four main options for consideration. These options can be seen in more detail at appendix (A).
Option 1 - All three authorities adopt a form of Choice based Lettings for the Sustainable Urban Extensions in the NRDA.
3.3.2 The local authorities felt that this option was the best way forward. However this would take a little while to implement as South Northamptonshire Council do not currently operate a choice based lettings system. Many of the sites in question would not come into existence during the short term so this should allow South Northamptonshire Council time to develop their CBL scheme.
3.3.3 The only site that may be affected in the shorter term would be Northampton North of Whitehill SUE, which is within Daventry district. Officers from Northampton Borough and Daventry District will ensure that the CBL approach will apply to this site, as there is already a sub regional scheme in place.
3.3.4 Choice Based Lettings allow applicants to choose where they wish to live in the Borough, which encourages community cohesion. Northampton Borough Council and Daventry District Council currently use this scheme jointly. All affordable homes built in the SUE’s will go through the CBL scheme which will be an advantage to the Borough as we have more applicants in priority bands on our waiting list than the two other authorities.
Option 1A – Specific Nomination Agreement between South Northamptonshire Council and Northampton Borough Council
3.3.4 In the event that South Northamptonshire Council decide not to implement a Choice Based Lettings Scheme, South Northamptonshire Council and Northampton Borough Council would enter into a specific nomination agreement to ensure that the nominations cascade (attached at Appendix B) is applied to any relevant site(s) within the NRDA.
Option 2 –Continue to operate existing nomination arrangements
3.3.5 All three local authorities felt this option would not work in practice. It would be a complicated system for the customers and would need them to register with each local authority to ensure they did not miss out on any housing opportunities.
Option 3 – DDC and NBC extend the sub-regional CBL agreement to include all SUE properties within the district of Daventry
3.3.6 Officers felt this option could work as a short-term solution but a more permanent solution would still be required in the long term. A mechanism would still be required for SNC to operate the system.
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Option 4 – NBC Register all applications expressing an interest in the SUE’s and nominate to these properties
3.3.7 This option was assessed as requiring significant additional resources to administer and is therefore not viable.
4. Implications (including financial implications)
4.1 Policy
4.1.1 The Affordable Housing Nominations Cascade Mechanism helps achieve the following priorities within Northampton Borough Council’s Housing Strategy 2010 2015:
Managing supply and growth for the future of Northampton; and Improving customer access, opportunity and choice
Nominations Cascade
4.1.2 The proposed options 1 and 1a involve adopting a new Nominations Cascade Mechanism (Appendix B).
4.1.3 Applications received by each local authority for affordable housing within the NRDA would be received as usual through the sub- regional CBL scheme2. Applicants would then be assessed according to their housing need. The nominations cascade would then be applied as properties become available.
4.1.4 It is considered that this approach is the fairest way of ensuring that affordable housing provided in the NRDA is effectively targeted at meeting the needs of households with a Northampton connection.
4.2 Resources and Risk
Risk
4.2.1 Unless all three authorities sign up to the Affordable Housing Nominations Agreement there is a risk that Northampton BC applicants will lose out to South Northamptonshire Council and Daventry DC applicants.
4.2.2 In the event that South Northamptonshire Council do not implement the Sub- regional CBL scheme a separate Agreement would need to be entered into between Northampton BC and South Northamptonshire Council.
Resources
4.2.2 IT systems are already in place through the Sub-regional CBL scheme and therefore the proposed approach would only require existing staffing time to monitor and make sure the nominations are received to provide additional choice to households from Northampton.
2 In the event that SNC decide not to implement the sub-regional CBL scheme than a separate agreement would be entered into between Northampton BC and South Northamptonshire Council.
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4.3 Legal
4.3.1 There are no legal issues anticipated.
4.4 Equality
4.4.1 The pre-submission Joint Core Strategy was supported by a Sustainability Appraisal/Strategic Environmental Assessment, which meets National legislation in relation to Equality Impact Assessments.
4.5 Consultees (Internal and External)
4.5.1 The following have been consulted:
Director of Housing Director of Planning & Regeneration Director of Finance Legal Services Housing Portfolio Holder Daventry District Council South Northamptonshire Council West Northamptonshire Joint Planning Unit
4.6 How the Proposals deliver Priority Outcomes
4.6.1 The Affordable Housing Nominations Cascade Mechanism would help meet the following corporate plan objective:
You (CO2 – Helping you to have a home, with an outcome of meeting housing needs)
4.7 Other Implications
4.7.1 None
5. Background Papers
5.1 Cross-District and Borough Strategic Approach to Affordable Housing Nominations in the Northampton Related Development Area, 9th June 2011, Joint Planning Unit.
Gary Parsons, Housing Strategy & Performance Manager, x7970
Jmd/committees/cabinet report template/04/10/11 5 APPENDIX A Options for Allocating Properties within the Sustainable Urban Extensions of the Northampton Related Development Area
Option 1 All three authorities adopt a form of Choice Based Lettings for the Sustainable Urban Extensions in the NRDA
Advantages . Good Customer Service . Customer would only fill out one application for any SUE within the NRDA . Application could be registered by any of the three West Northants Local Authorities . All properties could be placed on the sub-regional section of the CBL scheme and priority to applicant in higher bands. . Nomination rights would belong to the local authority where the property is based in accordance with the cascade agreement . The CBL fee would be paid to the local authority where the property is based
Disadvantages . SNC do not operate a CBL scheme . Differing allocations policies . Need to achieve Political buy in . May require policy and operational changes . Nominations cascade would have to be applied . Time implications
Option 2 Continue to operate existing nomination arrangements
Advantages . No change for the local authority in terms of administration of the scheme . Political buy in . No change to the way customers are given information or receive information
Disadvantages . Customer may have to register up to three times depending on which SUE they would like to live on . Customer would have to understand three allocations policies and processes if they registered for all SUEs . Customer would need to check information on up to three websites . The overall customer experience would be poor . Political buy in
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Option 3 DDC & NBC extend the sub-regional CBL agreement to include all SUE properties within the district of Daventry.
Advantages . DDC & NBC Customers would only have to register with one of the local authorities . SUE properties would be registered via the sub-regional section of the website so the customer would not have look at multiple sites . Bidding would take place via one website not several . A sub regional agreement already exists between DDC and NBC which could be used as the basis of any extension to the scheme . Similar allocations policies
Disadvantages . Mechanism would still need to be developed for SNC e.g. one of the other authorities advertising properties on behalf of SNC . If SNC agree to this arrangement, customers would still have to register with two authorities . Not customer friendly . Political buy in
Option 4 NBC Register all applications expressing an interest in the SUE’s and nominate to these properties
Advantages . One authority would have 100% of properties within the SUE’s . One authority would receive all income generated from the SUE nominations . Nominations cascade would not need to be developed or applied as all nominations would be from the NBC Waiting list . Clear process for customers
Disadvantages . One authority’s waiting list would increase . One authority’s workload would increase in terms of registration and administration of customers . May be difficult to achieve political buy in from members from the other two authorities . Customers would still need to register with two authorities if they wanted the option to live in other parts of the other two districts . The other two authorities would lose potential income
Jmd/committees/cabinet report template/04/10/11 7 Appendix B Proposed Nominations Cascade for the allocation of properties in the Sustainable Urban Extensions of the Northampton Related Development Area
The applicant 1. A Is and has been a resident for the past 12 months within the Northampton Related Development Areai
B Is permanently employed or has an offer of permanent employment within the Northampton Related Development Areai
C Is temporarily employed or has an offer for temporary employment, in a contract not less than 12 months, within the Northampton Related Development Areai
D Has been a resident for at least 3 out of the immediately preceding 5 years within the Northampton Related Development Areai
E Has been a resident for at least 5 out of the immediately preceding 10 years within the Northampton Related development Areai
F Is a person with a close relativeii, who is and has been a resident for the past 12 months, in the Northampton Related Development Areai
2. A Is and has been a resident for the past 12 months in any of the parishes immediately adjoining the Northampton Related Development Areai, in the districts of Daventry and South Northamptonshireiii
B Is permanently employed in or has an offer of permanent employment within the parishes immediately adjoining the Northampton Related Development Areai in the districts of Daventry and South Northamptonshireiii
C Is temporarily employed or has an offer for temporary employment, in a contract not less than 12 months, within the parishes immediately adjoining the Northampton Related Development Areai, in the districts of Daventry and South Northamptonshireiii
D Has been a resident in the parishes immediately adjoining the Northampton Related Development Area in the districts of Daventry and South Northamptonshire for 3 out of the immediately preceding 5 years
E Has been a resident within the parishes immediately adjoining the Northampton Related Development Areai, in the districts of Daventry and South Northamptonshireiii, for 5 out of the immediately preceding 10 years.
F Is a person with a close relativeii who is and has been a resident for the past 12 months in the parishes immediately adjoining the
Jmd/committees/cabinet report template/04/10/11 8 Northampton Related Development Areai within the districts of Daventry and South Northamptonshireiii
3. A Is and has been a resident for the past 12 months within the districts of Daventry and South Northamptonshire
B Is permanently employed in or has an offer of permanent employment within the districts of Daventry and South Northamptonshire
C Is temporarily employed or has an offer for temporary employment, in a contract not less than 12 months, within the Districts of Daventry or South Northamptonshire
D Has been a resident within the districts of Daventry or South Northamptonshire for 3 out of the immediately preceding 5 years
E Has been a resident within the districts of Daventry or South Northamptonshire for 5 out of the immediately preceding 10 years
F Is a person with a close relativeii, who is and has been a resident for the past 12 months, within the districts of Daventry and South Northamptonshire
4. A Is and has been a resident for the immediately preceding 12 months within Northamptonshire
B Is permanently employed in or has an offer of permanent employment within Northamptonshire
C Is temporarily employed or has an offer for temporary employment, in a contract not less than 12 months, within Northamptonshire
D Has been a resident within Northamptonshire for 3 out of the immediately preceding 5 years
E Has been a resident within Northamptonshire for 5 out of the immediately preceding 10 years
F Is a person with a close relativeii, who is and has been a resident for the past 12 months, within Northamptonshire
5. A Is any person who the council considers to be in need of affordable housing
B Is any person who the Registered Provider considers to be in need of affordable housing
i The Northampton Related Development Area (NRDA) is defined in the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy as:
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The whole of Northampton Borough Council’s administrative area; Those neighbouring parts of Daventry and South Northamptonshire Councils’ administrative areas where ‘development related to the growth of Northampton’ has already been completed or has planning permission or an approval in principle; and Those neighbouring parts of Daventry District and South Northamptonshire Councils’ administrative areas that are allocated for Sustainable Urban Extensions.
The boundary of the NRDA is shown on the attached plan.(attach fig 4 from JCS) ii A close Relative is defined as mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, husband, wife, civil partner, stepparents, stepsiblings, step-grandparents, step-grandchildren. (Please note that these relationships are not in any order of preference). iii For the purpose of Paragraph 2, clauses A-F, the parishes immediately adjoining the Northampton Related Development Area within the district of
1. Daventry are those of
a. Boughton b. Church with Chapel Brampton c. Harlestone d. Moulton e. Overstone
2. South Northamptonshire are those of
a. Brafield on the Green b. Cogenhoe and Whiston c. Courteenhall d. Grange Park e. Hackleton f. Harpole g. Kislingbury h. Little Houghton i. Milton Malsor j. Quinton k. Rothersthorpe
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Appendix C Map of Northampton Related Development Area
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