Decision details

Councillor Claire Cummins, the Cabinet Member for Housing, presented the report which sought the approval of £1m of accumulated commuted sums to bring empty homes back into use across the borough. Members voiced their support for the report, and noted it covered 1000 empty properties and 500 which had been vacant for 2 years or more.

Decision:

That Cabinet:

1.   Allocate £1m of accumulated Affordable Housing commuted sums to fund bringing empty properties across the borough back into use as affordable housing, in line with housing and planning policies and the rules governing affordable housing and the use of commuted sums.

2.   Delegate agreement and approval of relevant detailed matters to The Director of Economic Regeneration and Capital Growth and Chief Finance Officer / S151 Officer in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing Services. Detailed matters include the financial appraisal per property and other relevant detailed agreements between the Council and Six Town Housing.

Reasons for the decision:

The commuted sums were secured through Section 106 Planning Agreements as a result of the Council’s Affordable Housing Planning Policy and must be spent on the provision of affordable housing within the borough in accordance with the terms of the legal agreements. Bringing empty properties back into use for affordable housing is a good fit with the rules governing the use of the ring-fenced commuted sums and will contribute significantly to delivering the objectives within both the Council’s Housing and Regeneration Strategies, and commuted sums have previously been allocated in this way.

Other options considered and rejected:

Option 1 - Do nothing

The terms of the S106 Agreements require the contributions to be spent or committed within 10 years of receipt. Doing nothing could result in contributions having to be refunded. By not taking any action to bring the empty properties back into use, it is likely that they will deteriorate further and generate an increase in complaints to the Council. It is also a missed opportunity to the ever increasing demand for affordable housing across the borough.

Option 2 - Do not allocate the commuted sums monies to be used to bring empty homes back into use as affordable housing

Cabinet pledged to tackle empty homes across Bury by ensuring a specific post for an empty homes officer was made available. If no money is attributed to a project to return empties back into use, the post holder will only be able to pursue enforcement options to bring properties back into use. This can often be a very lengthy and costly process which, on its own would return few properties back into use over time. By allocating the £1m, the Council can proactively target empty properties and enter into meaningful negotiations with owners to bring their property back into use.