Decision Details

Report of Acting Director Inclusive Growth

Additional Portfolio Finance and Resources

Additional Directorate Neighbourhoods

On 11 October 2022, Cabinet:-

(i)       Approved the FBC for the Scheme, attached to the report as Appendix A, and delegated any changes up to 20% of the approved budget to the Strategic Director of Place, Prosperity and Sustainability due to the uncertainty surrounding both material price rises and availability of skilled labour to construct the properties, pavilion and pitches;

(ii)      Approved the strategy and commencement of the procurement activity for the housing development and associated works, including the delivery of new sports pitches and the construction of a new changing pavilion in Senneleys Park, using the Homes England Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) or an alternative procurement route compliant with the Procurement Regulations if use of the DPS is unsuccessful;

(iii)     Delegated the approval of the contract award for the Scheme to include the delivery of the homes, the sports pitches and the pavilion to the Strategic Director, Places, Prosperity and Sustainability in conjunction with the Strategic Director, City Operations, the Assistant Director, Procurement (or their delegate), the Strategic Director of Council Management (or their delegate) and the City Solicitor and Monitoring Officer (or their delegate) subject to the costs being within the FBC approval in accordance with paragraph 2.1 of the report;

(iv)     Delegated to the Strategic Director, Place, Prosperity and Sustainability to amend the tenure mix of open market sale and social rent properties should circumstances dictate a need to change tenure especially in light of the known facts that Help To Buy ceases to be available from April 2023 and that the current rise in interest rates will impact on the affordability of mortgages;

(v)      Authorised the Strategic Director, City Operations to place an order not to exceed the sum of £0.99m in total for construction of a changing pavilion at Senneleys Park;

(vi)     Authorised the Strategic Director, Places, Prosperity and Sustainability to seek consent from the Secretary of State under Section 174 of Localism Act 2011, to exclude the new council properties developed through the Scheme from the Right to Buy pooling requirements, and to ensure that any capital receipts generated from any future sale of homes under the Right to Buy are retained by the Council for reinvestment in future housing delivery;

(vii)    Authorised the Assistant Director, Transport and Connectivity to grant technical approval of the Scheme highways proposals and progress the preferred option to detailed design which will be the responsibility of the appointed contractor;

(viii)    Authorised the Strategic Director, Place, Prosperity and Sustainability to submit and process all necessary highway closures and notices required to facilitate the Scheme highlighted in the FBC and to enter into any appropriate agreements for the creation, improvement and alterations to highway access to the sites;

(ix)     Delegated to the Strategic Director, Place, Prosperity and Sustainability the power to amend or vary the development boundaries by up to 10% for the Scheme;

(x)      Delegated authority to the Strategic Director, Places, Prosperity and Sustainability to submit funding applications to Homes England (HE), West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), European Regional Development Fund or any other funding agency to facilitate the scheme development where required;

(xi)     Authorised the City Solicitor and Monitoring Officer (or their delegate) to take all steps necessary for the preparation of any documents, to negotiate, execute and complete all necessary documentation to give effect to the above recommendations.