Agenda item
SCRUTINY SPOTLIGHT
The Lead Member Housing and Development, Councillor Marc Francis, will attend to report on his portfolio.
(Time allocated – 45 minutes)
Minutes:
Councillor Marc Francis, Lead Member Housing and Development, gave a detailed presentation on aspects of his portfolio, focusing on areas set out below:-
Local Development Framework Core Strategy
- The Full Council in December 2009 had agreed a Local Development Framework for submission to the Secretary of State. The framework had been adapted so as to relate to particular areas and neighbourhoods of the Borough and as such had been supported by residents. There would be a series of evidential sessions with the public in April and finalisation of the consultation process after the local elections.
Regeneration
- Individual Master plans had been prepared concerning regeneration of specific areas, namely, Aldgate, Whitechapel and Bromley by Bow. A Master plan for the Fish Island area was also in preparation, and aimed to provide community building without driving out local industry.
- The Ocean Estate regeneration project was awaiting a detailed planning application and significant public investment was anticipated. Housing Consortium grant was close to finalisation and the contract with ET Consortium was due to be signed this month. 781 homes were to be refurbished and 819 new homes provided, with maximisation of socially rented homes to some 50%.
- On the Blackwall Reach project, design work for the outline scheme had commenced and the first stage of procurement was underway. Despite previous misgivings about the scheme, regeneration of the estate was considered desirable and the views of residents were being sought to ensure their support.
- At Cottall Street, all squatters had been removed and demolition work was proceeding.
Housing Delivery
- 1064 affordable homes had been completed in 2008/09, of which 186 were three-bed plus. It was forecast that 1817 affordable home would be completed in 2009/10, of which 54 were three-bed plus.
- Overcrowding had been particularly addressed as it affected people’s life chances and aspirations. A new allocations policy was under development and due for submission to Cabinet next month. Buy-backs of 63 properties sold under RTB had been achieved and previously overcrowded homes had been let to smaller families.
- The big housing management challenge was to bring Tower Hamlets Homes into a position to achieve two star status and work was ongoing with the new senior management team, who had been in place for the last 6 -12 months. Over the past two years there had been many issues to resolve with individual housing associations but most were now moving in the right direction. There had been particular problems in the Isle of Dogs and Stepney with some improvements. The particular housing associations would be monitored and challenged as appropriate to ensure they delivered satisfactory services.
Members of Overview and Scrutiny Committee then posed a series of detailed questions to which Councillor Francis responded. The question and answer session was centred on the following points:
- The increasing population in the Borough and the consequent effects on housing requirements for local people, together with the Council’s obligations to meet that need.
- The requirement to address issues arising from overcrowding that affected people’s aspirations and life choices. The Cabinet aimed to maximise the provision of socially rented homes and break the cycle of deprivation that had existed for many families.
- A new lettings system was being implemented that would enable more transparency and consistency in application. A questionnaire had elicited almost 2,000 responses from the public and these were mostly positive in nature.
- There had been success in obtaining funding from Communities and Local Government for the High Street 2012 (A12/Whitechapel) project; similarly there would be works to the Roman Road/Bethnal Green Road corridor and a significant post-Olympic legacy would be achieved for East London.
- There was recognition of the contribution made by shopkeepers on the Ocean Estate and it was hoped that they could be relocated or return to the locality after regeneration works to the estate were completed. Councillor Francis indicated that he would check the position of the planning application for the redevelopment and inform the Chair accordingly.
- Some 900 affordable homes had been completed, along with about 500 socially rented homes also.
The Chair thanked Councillor Francis for his detailed presentation.