Item 11 - WD More Homes - WDC Affordable Housing Supply Delivery Programme
West Dunbartonshire Council · 26 February 2025
Back to Housing & Communities Committee — 26 February 2025 and its agenda
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by the Chief Officer, Housing and Employability Housing and Communities Committee: 26 February 2025 __________________________________________________________________ Subject: More Homes West Dunbartonshire – West Dunbartonshire Council Affordable Housing Supply Delivery Programme 1. Purpose 1.1 This purpose of this report is to provide the Housing and Communities Committee an update on progress with West Dunbartonshire’s More Homes Programme which oversees the delivery of the Council’s new home building programme. 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Housing and Communities Committee: (i) Notes the content of the report and the progress made to date in the delivery of the Council’s More Homes West Dunbartonshire approach, including the first handovers of new homes at the zero carbon Clydebank East development which represents the 500th new build the Council has developed under the current More Homes programme; and (ii) Notes the remedial actions being undertaken by Council Officers in response to Connect Modular entering into administration as the Gilmour Avenue housing development contractor 3. Background 3.1 In West Dunbartonshire the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) is delivered through a More Homes West Dunbartonshire strategic approach which has successfully delivered over one thousand new affordable homes in West Dunbartonshire to date and includes the Council’s own ambitious New House Building Programme. 3.2 The Council’s last full practical completion took place at the Queens Quay development in September 2022 delivering twenty-nine new Council homes in a key regeneration area as part of a wider development which has delivered 146 new social rented homes. The homes were the first residential properties to be heated from the Council’s Queens Quay District Heating Network. This development was recognised at national housing sector awards winning the following: - Best Residential Regeneration Project – Herald Property Awards Inside Housing Best Residential Development (Scotland) Item 11
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3.3 These 29 new homes, are in addition to the completion of the Council’s first fully dementia designed development at Creveul Court, Alexandria and other exemplar developments in Haldane, Aitkenbar, Bellmsyre, Dumbarton Harbour and St Andrews, Clydebank. The Council have now completed twelve new build developments since 2013 and are the largest developer of social homes in West Dunbartonshire delivering 508 new homes and 137 acquisitions through our buyback scheme to date as outlined in Table 1 below. The 500th new build home in the More Homes West Dunbartonshire delivery programme was delivered in October 2024 at our current Clydebank East development which will fully complete in April 2025: Table 1: Completed Council New Build and Acquisitions Project No. of Units Completion Date Granville Street (Phase 1), Clydebank 24 July 2013 Miller Road, Alexandria 15 October 2013 Granville Street (Phase 2), Clydebank 9 February 2014 Central Bellsmyre, Dumbarton 36 December 2014 Hillstreet Square, Dumbarton 37 August 2015 Second Avenue, Clydebank 40 April 2018 Creveul Court, Alexandria 22 April 2021 Aitkenbar Primary School 55 July2021 Haldane Primary School 58 August 2021 St Andrews, Clydebank 126 October 2021 Dumbarton Harbour, Dumbarton 45 December 2021 Queens Quay, Site B, Clydebank 29 August 2022 Clydebank East, Clydebank 46 Ongoing Buyback Acquisitions 158 Ongoing Totals 700 3.4 The Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) 2025-2030, outlining West Dunbartonshire’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme through the More Homes West Dunbartonshire approach was approved by the Housing and Communities Committee in November 2024. The SHIP outline plans to contribute to meet the Council Administration’s aim of delivering 2500 new affordable and social rented homes over the 10-year period 2022-2032. 4. Main Issues More Homes West Dunbartonshire - Delivery Programme 4.1 Building new affordable homes has an important role to play in revitalising local economies and assisting with post-pandemic and economic recovery plans, negating the impacts of the current cost of living crisis and combatting poverty principally child and fuel poverty. It is also clear that the need for affordable homes has and will increase in the current ongoing economic environment. 4.2 The Council’s More Homes West Dunbartonshire approach is an ambitious plan that aims to continue the positive momentum of the delivery of much
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needed Council homes in West Dunbartonshire and will significantly assist the Council’s aim to deliver 2500 new social and affordable homes by 2032. 4.3 As the biggest affordable housing developer in West Dunbartonshire, the Council has identified several future development sites for new council homes to address existing and new housing need. The design of these homes will further develop, improve, and exceed current best practice, providing sustainable homes using innovative technology and delivering on our low carbon ambitions including passivhaus and other net zero carbon opportunities. 4.4 The Council’s More Homes West Dunbartonshire approach has evidenced strong support from council tenants and was recently highlighted as one of the two key future spending priority areas for tenants through the comprehensive tenant satisfaction survey undertaken in late 2024. 4.5 The Strategic Housing Investment Plan and HRA Capital Plan outlined the plans the Council have for meeting their new build ambitions. An update on each development site is provide below: - Clydebank East: This development will deliver eighty-eight new homes and has been designed to meet the housing need within the wider West Dunbartonshire area. The table below shows the housing mix: House Type Sustainability Standard Number of New Homes Wheelchair Bungalow 3bed/4person Net Zero 3 House 3bed/5person Net Zero 15 House 4 bed/7person Net Zero 12 House 5 bed/8 person Net Zero 8 Wheelchair Cottage Flat 1bed/2 person Net Zero 4 Cottage Flat 2 bed/4 person Net Zero 4 Flat 1 bed/2person Net Zero 16 Flat 2 bed/4 person Net Zero 24 Wheelchair Flat 1 bed/2person Net Zero 2 Works commenced on this development in January 2023. The first 12 units were handed over on 7th October 2024. Sectional handovers of the 3-, 4- and 5-bedroom houses have now been completed (46 units). The handover of the flatted accommodation will begin at the end of February. Practical completion and handover of all 88 new homes is currently estimated for the 11th April 2025. All homes are designed to the Housing for Various Needs Standard (HfVN). There will be nine fully Wheelchair (WCH) accessible properties. The 4- and 5 -bedroom homes have ground floor double bedrooms.
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The development at Clydebank East sees the completion of a major housing led regeneration of a key priority regeneration area identified in the Local Housing Strategy and will be the first fully zero carbon housing development in West Dunbartonshire and marks a significant milestone in our transition to net zero new homes approved at the August 2022 meeting of the Housing and Communities Committee. We have previously reported award of above benchmark grant due to the complexities of the development at Clydebank East this resulted in a total grant award of £12.6m, this equates to over £143k grant per home and around £4.68m more than the benchmark grant award this ensured the delivery of the development without any negative impact on the wider Housing Revenue Account. Pappert, Bonhill This development element of this development commenced in early March 2025, delivering the housing mix as follows: - House Type Sustainability Standard Number of New Homes House 3bed/5 person Passivhaus 6 House 3bed/5 person Net Zero 6 House 4bed/6person Net Zero 4 House 4bed/7person Net Zero 1 Flat 2bed/3person w/c Net Zero 3 Flat 1 bed/2person Net Zero 6 The development is currently meeting all delivery targets and will be completed in Summer 2025. Mount Pleasant, Old Kilpatrick The site started on 15th April 2024 and construction will last approximately one year. This is a 19-unit complex which is designed for elderly residents and will deliver high quality amenity housing, the housing mix is outlined below for information. House Type Sustainability Standard Number of New Homes Bungalow 1bed/2person Net Zero 3 Flat 1bed/2person w/c Net Zero 4 Flat 1bed/2person Net Zero 4 Flat 2bed/4person Net Zero 8 Willox Park, Doveholm, Dumbarton
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The development of seventeen new homes for the elderly at a former care home site will comprise of the housing mix below. House Type Sustainability Standard Number of New Homes Flat 2bed/3person Net Zero 2 Flat 1 bed/2person Net Zero 15 This development has now been granted planning permission and a contractor, McTaggart Construction, has been appointed to begin the construction phase. Construction will commence in November on this project. The net zero heat strategy will be delivered by ground source heat pump, as it was felt that this solution to be preferable than an air source heat pump for each home. Current tenants at Willox Park have been consulted throughout the design process and this has continued with the contractor holding Q&A sessions. We are currently working with the existing tenants to ensure they have an up- to-date housing application live to make sure the process of moving into the new facility is as easy and streamlined as possible. Bonhill Gap Site Strategy House Size Sustainability Standard Number of New Homes 1bed wheelchair Net Zero 4 1 bed general needs Net Zero 16 2 bed wheelchair Net Zero 3 3 bed general needs Net Zero 3 4 bed general needs Net Zero 2 5 bed general needs Net Zero 4 7 bed general needs Net Zero 2 Planning has been submitted for all sites with approval granted for Campbell St and forthcoming for Braehead and O’Hare development sites. A contractor has been appointed to deliver the Campbell St and Braehead development sites. The tender cost was returned over £2m below the estimated cost of the job illustrating a competitive tender result. As illustrated in the table above the developments feature large family homes. The tender for O’Hare is due back 14th February 2025. Bank Street, Alexandria The development will consist of twenty-two sheltered/amenity housing units in partnership with the HSCP. Planning has been submitted.
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House Type Sustainability Standard Number of New Homes Flat 1bed/2person w/c Net Zero 22 Communal Room Net Zero 1 Staff Office Net Zero 1 A planning decision was expected at the end of November. However there has been a delay in planning consent. The contract for this project has been awarded. This tender return has returned a competitive price around £2m below the estimated delivery costs. Similar to Willox Park, tenants at Gray Street have been consulted throughout the design process and will be assisted to make the transition as smooth as possible. Clydebank Health Centre Demolitions of the former health centre building was completed in late 2024. Having received the feasibility report for the site, the Council plans to develop 20+ units of sheltered housing to reprovision existing sheltered housing currently provided at Young Street, therefore strategically improving the provision of sheltered accommodation within Clydebank. We also aim to build around 10-15 units of mostly family housing. The Council have discussed proposals with tenants at Young Street on the proposition of developing a new sheltered complex on the old Clydebank Health Centre site. This was met with a largely positive reaction and consultation with tenants, staff and other stakeholders will continue throughout the design process. A multidisciplinary design team, led by Collective Architecture, who carried out the feasibility study, have been appointed through the Scottish Procurement Alliance framework to carry forward the above-mentioned site proposal designs. They have begun the pre-application for Planning process along with relevant consultation exercises. Gilmour Avenue, Hardgate As part of the wider development of our Clydebank Gap Site strategy, the Council identified a Housing Revenue Account site in the Hardgate area at Gilmour Avenue. The site was previously the location of timber garages on concrete bases. These have long since been demolished and the site has been beset with fly tipping issues for several years. The development started on site on 23/9/2024 and had a completion date of 14/2/25. However, on the 3rd January 2025, Connect Modular, the main contractor unfortunately entered administration. The Council is now working towards the appointment of a new contractor with minimal delay to completion
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and are aiming to complete the homes this financial year. The homes have been delivered on site and are over 80% completed. The Council has secured the site and taken over the site security contract. Dennystoun Forge Gypsy/Traveller Site The project has been scored and assessed as a priority in the new SHIP 2025 -2030, with a proposed site start in 2026/27. Our in-house design team and Procurement colleagues are proceeding to detail our plans. Engagement continuous with the Dennystoun Forge community. Our focus remains on decant options, where we are engaging with our Assets and Planning colleagues on the possible use of an identified alternative site for decanting during the works, and on procurement, where we have consulted with other local authorities with experience of similar projects. The decant arrangements have thrown up a series of questions which we will be discussing with the community. While the costs for the decant site are likely to be high, overall, we expect a saving to be achieved through giving the eventual works contractor free access to the Dennystoun Forge site. Queen Mary Avenue, Clydebank (Clydebank Gap Sites) House Type Sustainability Standard Number of New Homes 1 bed/2 person Cottage Flat Net Zero 10 2 bed/3 person WCH Cottage Flat Net Zero 1 3 bed/4 person Cottage Flat Net Zero 1 3 bedroom terraced house Net Zero 3 4 bedroom semi-detached Net Zero 2 The transfer of the site at Queen Mary Avenue, Clydebank with vacant possession at the cost of £140,000 from the Council’s General Fund to the Housing Revenue Account for the delivery of new Council homes was approved at the February meeting of the Housing and Communities Committee and has now been concluded. A main contractor has been appointed for the delivery of the proposed 17 new homes. The Council has started the pre-application planning process and are hopeful to submit for planning at the end of February. Community consultation has been scheduled prior to the Planning submission. Silverton Regeneration The demolition for the 2 identified sites in Smollett Road and Dumbuie Avenue has now been completed. We are currently engaging with our colleagues in consultancy services around the design for the housing on the site. Queens Quay, Site C, Clydebank
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The Council has been developing a design to deliver a projected twenty units on this site to complement the housing mix within sites A and B. This development will also be designed to meet low/zero carbon principles and linked to the Queens Quay district heating network. . Pre-planning response was received on the 25 February highlighting concern of the WDC development proceeding in isolation. We have adopted a proactive response to this issue and have developed masterplan diagrams incorporating the surrounding sites and have conducted valuations on the adjacent site to Queens Quay C with a view to purchasing additional land to deliver more affordable housing in the Queens Quay regeneration site. If this is achieved, we would seek to develop a mixed tenure approach to any expanded development site delivering one hundred new affordable homes. We are seeking discussion with CRL (Clydeside Regeneration Limited) to progress the possibility of acquiring this additional land and will be able to draw down Scottish Government grant to enable this. However, because of the uncertainties surrounding potential delivery timescales for this project and the reduced funding it is no longer allocated funding within the current Strategic Housing Investment Programme. Buyback Programme Total number of properties purchased in 2024/25 financial year 28 Total Purchase Value £2,635,000 The twenty-eight acquisitions include fourteen larger family properties comprising of three bedrooms or more. The strategic approach to acquire homes that are aligned to housing need and the increased home valuations in West Dunbartonshire have required that we amend our target for 2024/25 from sixty acquisitions to forty through the buyback scheme. However, additional buyback acquisitions will be delivered through the National Acquisition Scheme, Ukrainian Long Term Resettlement Fund and local housing association schemes which will ensure the Strategic Housing Investment Plan target of sixty acquisitions is achieved. 4.6 The Housing Development Team are continuously looking for opportunities to provide additional new build council homes and will bring any potential site to the Housing and Communities Committee with as much information as possible as part of the regular More Homes update paper. 5. People Implications 5.1 The delivery of the More Homes delivery programme is managed through existing resource within the Housing Development & Homelessness team funded from the Housing Capital Investment Programme. 6. Financial and Procurement Implications
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Financial 6.1 On 6 March 2024 Council approved the Housing Capital Programme 2023- 2028 which saw significant resources committed to the delivery of new council homes in West Dunbartonshire. An expenditure budget of £155m for the affordable housing supply programme is factored into the HRA Capital Programme this will be updated to reflect the income and expenditure highlighted within this report. As it currently stands, it is anticipated that this programme will complete on project life budget. 6.2 Housing and Finance Officers will continue to assess the ongoing affordability of future developments within the context of the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan. 6.3 The Council has to date delivered 542 new homes for social rent, these additional homes bring council tax revenue of around £670k per year to West Dunbartonshire Council. Procurement 6.4 All new development sites will be subject to new detailed procurement strategies and the opportunities highlighted within 4.5 of this report will continue to be prioritised. Where the contract award is less than £213,000, authority is delegated to the Chief Officer in consultation with the Procurement Manager to instruct the award of contracts for the planned revenue and capital spend detailed in this report to suppliers providing the most economically advantageous offer to the Council. 6.5 All procurement activity conducted by the Council more than £2m is subject to a contract strategy. The contract strategy for new housing development within the HRA Capital Programme will be developed by the Corporate Procurement Unit in consultation with Housing Development Officers. The contract strategy will include, but is not limited to; contract scope, service forward plan, the market, procurement model and routes – including existing delivery vehicles, roles and responsibilities, risks, issues and opportunities and on-going contract management. Opportunities to maximise the positive social, economic, and environmental impact for the Council through the relevant procurement processes will be developed in line with procurement policy. 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 All Council new build projects have their own Risk Register which highlights the risk within and out-with the project team’s control. These are maintained and adjusted on an on-going basis. 7.2 With any new build project there is a risk that as the projects develop the cost increases beyond the estimated contract cost. Any additional borrowing requirements, or conversely, cost savings will be reported to future meetings
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of the Housing and Communities Committee. However, this is mitigated through a target cost model approach in our current contract arrangements within the Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA) framework and Scotland Excel. 8 Environmental Sustainability 8.1 The delivery of new homes is within the approved More Homes zero carbon approach. Our current and future approach to strategic housing asset management will continue to prioritise a ‘zero carbon’ approach to decision making and deliverability and this will be done the aims of the Housing Asset Management Strategy and the Council’s Climate Change Strategy. 9. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 9.1 The proposal does not alter any existing policy or pattern of service delivery and so is not considered to require an equalities impact assessment. 10. Consultation 10.1 As part of a rent consultation exercise, 92% of respondents indicated their support for the Council’s ambitious plans to deliver the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) new council house build programme. In addition, there was positive support for the wider delivery of new build housing as part of the recent Local Housing Strategy. Regular updates on new build development are provided to the West Dunbartonshire Tenants and Residents Organisation at the bi-monthly liaison meetings. 11. Strategic Assessment 11.1 The Local Housing Strategy is the overarching document setting out the strategic direction for housing across all tenures and informs the future investment in housing and related services across West Dunbartonshire. 11.2 Having considered all the Council’s strategic priorities, this report, and the provision of new supply social housing for rent contributes greatly to all the Council’s strategic priorities. Peter Barry Chief Officer, Housing and Employability Date: 13 February 2025 Person to Contact: John Kerr – Housing Development and Homelessness Manager, Housing Development and Homelessness Team, Housing and Employability, telephone: 07793717981, email: john.kerr@west-dunbarton.gov.uk
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Mikayla Deeley, Senior Housing Development Officer, Housing Development and Homelessness Team, Housing and Employability: email mikayla.deeley@west- dunbarton.gov.uk Appendices: None Background Papers: West Dunbartonshire Council’s Local Housing Strategy Local Housing Strategy, Health Inequalities Impact Assessment Wards Affected: All
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