Item 6 - Draft Minutes Housing & Communities 07 05 25
West Dunbartonshire Council · 20 August 2025
Back to Housing & Communities Committee — 20 August 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES COMMITTEE At a Hybrid Meeting of the Housing and Communities Committee held in the Civic Space, 16 Church Street, Dumbarton on Wednesday, 07 May 2025 at 10.00 a.m. Present: Provost Karen Murray Conaghan and Councillors Gurpreet Singh Johal, David McBride, John Millar*, Lawrence O’Neill, Lauren Oxley, Chris Pollock, Martin Rooney, William Rooney, and Sophie Traynor. *Arrived later in the meeting. Attending: Peter Barry - Chief Officer, Housing and Employability; John Kerr, Housing Development and Homelessness Manager; Nicola Pettigrew, Housing Operations Manager; Laurence Slavin - Chief Officer, Resources; Alistair Norris, Contracts Manager; Christopher Anderson, Legal Officer; Nicola Moorcroft and Lynn Straker, Committee Officers. Also attending: Divisional Commander Gary I’Anson, Superintendent Patricia Robertson and Chief Inspector Simon Shanks, Police Scotland; Area Commander Joe McKay and Watch Commander Tony McGloin, Argyll and Bute, East and West Dunbartonshire, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Apologies: Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Councillors Ian Dickson and Hazel Sorrell. Councillor Gurpreet Singh Johal in the Chair STATEMENT BY CHAIR – AUDIO STREAMING Councillor Gurpreet Singh Johal, Chair, advised that the meeting was being audio streamed and broadcast live to the internet and would be available for playback. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST It was noted that there were no declarations of interest in the item of business on the agenda however, Councillors Johal Singh and Traynor made Transparency Statements noting a connection to matters discussed at Item under the heading ‘Housing Emergency Action Plan’, noting that having applied the objective test, it does not amount to an interest. ITEM 6
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RECORDING OF VOTES The Committee agreed that all votes taken during the meeting would be done by roll call vote to ensure an accurate record. OPEN FORUM The Committee noted that no open forum questions had been submitted by members of the public. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The Minutes of the Meeting of the Housing and Communities Committee held on 26 February 2025 were submitted and approved as a correct record. SCRUTINY REPORTS (a) POLICE SCRUTINY REPORT A report was submitted by the Divisional Commander, Police Scotland providing Members with an update Quarter 4 on local policing in West Dunbartonshire. After discussion and having heard Divisional Commander Gary I’Anson, Superintendent Patricia Robertson and Chief Inspector Simon Shanks, in further explanation of the report and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the update provided. Note: Councillor Millar entered the meeting at this point. (b) FIRE AND RESCUE SCRUTINY REPORT A report was submitted by the Local Senior Officer, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service providing appropriate performance data for Quarter 4, measured against priorities in the West Dunbartonshire Local Fire and Rescue Plan. After discussion and having heard Area Commander Joe McKay and Watch Commander Tony McGloin, Argyll and Bute, East and West Dunbartonshire, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, in further explanation of the report and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the update provided.
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HOUSING AND EMPLOYABILITY DELIVERY PLAN 2024/25 - YEAR-END PROGRESS AND HOUSING AND EMPLOYABILITY DELIVERY PLAN 2025/26 A report was submitted by the Chief Officer - Housing and Employability setting out the year-end progress of the 2024/25 Delivery Plan and presenting the new Delivery Plan for 2025/26. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer - Housing and Employability and the Housing Development and Homelessness Manager in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the progress achieved at year-end and the new plan for 2025/26. HOUSING EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN A report was submitted by the Chief Officer - Housing and Employability providing an update on the Housing Emergency Action Plan (HEDAP) which was formulated to address the emergency following the Council’s housing emergency declaration on 1st May 2024. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer - Housing and Employability and the Housing Development and Homelessness Manager in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed: (1) to note the progress to date and the implementation of the key actions of the Housing Emergency Declaration Action Plan as summarised in paragraphs 4.1 - 4.9 of the report and in the action plan update within Appendix 1 of the report; (2) to note the agreed letting target for 2025/26 to households experiencing homelessness is to be 59% as detailed in paragraphs 4.10 - 4.14 of the report; and (3) to note the Chief Officer - Housing and Employability will continue to bring an update report to future Housing and Communities Committee meetings regarding the housing emergency declaration including an updated action plan as noted in paragraph 4.3 of the report. MORE HOMES WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE – WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL’S AFFORDABLE HOUSING SUPPLY DELIVERY PROGRAMME A report was submitted by the Chief Officer - Housing and Employability providing an update on progress with West Dunbartonshire’s More Homes Programme which oversees the delivery of the Council’s new home building programme. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer - Housing and Employability and the Housing Development and Homelessness Manager, in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:-
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(1) to note 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 final handovers of 88 new Council homes at the zero carbon Clydebank East development which completes a significant housing led regeneration project; (2) to invite the Chief Officer - Housing and Employability to carry out a procurement exercise and to subsequently award the contract up to budgeted costs for the new build developments at West Thomson Street, Clydebank and the next phase at Willox Park, Dumbarton; and (3) to note the resource planning allocation of an initial £10.757m to West Dunbartonshire Council to deliver the Affordable Housing Supply Programme in 2025/26. BUILDING SERVICES PROCUREMENT PROVISION A report was submitted by the Chief Officer - Housing and Employability advising of updated tender requirements information for Building Services. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer - Housing and Employability, the Chief Officer – Resources, the legal Officer and the Contracts Manager, in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the contents of the report; (2) to approve the procurement processes to tender the requirements listed within the table in paragraph 4.2 of the report; and (3) to defer approval to award contracts to successful bidders to the Chief Officer - Housing and Employability, until clarification has been provided regarding the legalities of such a delegation of authority. The meeting closed at 12.03 p.m.