Approved Minutes Housing & Communities 28 02 24
West Dunbartonshire Council · 28 February 2024
Back to Housing & Communities Committee — 28 February 2024 and its agenda
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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, 28 February 2024 at 10.00 a.m. Present: Councillors Gurpreet Singh Johal, David McBride, Jonathan McColl, Michelle McGinty, John Millar, Lawrence O’Neill, Lauren Oxley, Martin Rooney, Hazel Sorrell and Sophie Traynor. Attending: Peter Barry – Chief Officer, Housing and Employability; John Kerr, Housing Development and Homelessness Manager; Nicola Pettigrew, Housing Operations Manager; Alan Young, Housing Asset and Investment Manager; Nigel Ettles, Legal Officer; Nicola Moorcroft and Lynn Straker, Committee Officers. Also attending: Chief Superintendent Kirsteen McLatchie, Superintendent Neil McDougall and Chief Inspector Ryan McMurdo, Police Scotland; Group Commander Paul Councill and Station Commander Anthony Mallon, Argyll and Bute, East and West Dunbartonshire, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Apologies: Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Councillor Ian Dickson and James McElhill. Councillor Gurpreet Singh Johal in the Chair STATEMENT BY CHAIR – AUDIO STREAMING Councillor 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. 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.
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OPEN FORUM The Committee noted that no open forum questions had been submitted by members of the public. VALEDICTORY CHIEF INSPECTOR RYAN MCMURDO -POLICE SCOTLAND Councillor Singh Johal advised that this was the last meeting Chief Inspector Ryan McMurdo, Police Scotland would be attending. On behalf of all Members of the Committee, he thanked Chief Inspector McMurdo for all his work worked for West Dunbartonshire and wished his well for his future role. In response, Chief Inspector McMurdo thanked everyone for their kind words and noted thanks to all current and past Members of the Housing and Communities Committee for their support and introduced Chief Superintendent Kirsteen McLatchie who will be his replacement within West Dunbartonshire. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The Minutes of the Meeting of the Housing and Communities Committee held on 22 November 2023 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, for Quarter 3, on local policing in West Dunbartonshire. After discussion and having heard the Chief Inspector McMurdo, in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the update provided for Quarter 3. (b) FIRE AND RESCUE SCRUTINY REPORT A report was submitted by the Local Senior Officer, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service providing appropriate performance data measured against priorities in the West Dunbartonshire Local Fire and Rescue Plan. After discussion and having heard the Group Commander Paul Councill, in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the update provided for Quarter 3.
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MORE HOMES WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE – WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL 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:- (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; (2) to note the temporary reduction in the number of homes to be delivered within the Bonhill Gap Site development project; and (3) to authorise the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability to establish two Housing Revenue Account subsidiary organisations in partnership with Scottish Futures Trust Investment (SFTi) and bring back, to the Committee, a proposed alternative tenure projects, for authority permission to proceed. WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE BUY BACK SCHEME POLICY REVIEW A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability providing the outcomes of the review of the Council’s Buyback Scheme. 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 content of the report and approve the refreshed West Dunbartonshire Buy Back Policy; and (2) to note that, from 1st April 2024, the Council will be exempt from Land and Building Tax Additional Dwelling Supplement (LBTT ADS) following effective interventions by West Dunbartonshire Council Elected Members. WILLOX PARK SHELTERED HOUSING COMPLEX OPTIONS APPRAISAL A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability providing an update on the recent options appraisal consultation exercise at Willox Park. 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 actions that have been taken to consult with the Willox Park Sheltered Housing Complex tenants. (2) to approve Option 3 – Redevelopment, which would see the existing homes replaced with new modern energy efficient homes, through a master planning approach agreed in full consultation with existing tenants; (3) to designate all 36 properties within the Willox Park Sheltered Housing Complex as surplus to requirements. (4) to authorise the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability to commence all associated procurement activity to achieve the delivery of Option 3 – Redevelopment. (5) to invite the Chief Officer – Housing & Employability to take the next steps with all remaining tenants:- (a) to ensure that all tenants have a personalised housing plan prepared; (b) to ensure that all tenants have the necessary priority identification through the Council’s Allocation Policy; (c) to develop a lettings plan for the new homes being delivered at the adjacent former care homes site to ensure priority is given to the existing tenants of the Willox Park Sheltered Housing complex as either a temporary or permanent housing solution; and (d) to authorise Home Loss and Disturbance Payments with all tenants throughout the master planning delivery process. (6) to invite the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability to provide the Housing and Communities Committee with regular update reports. HOUSING REVENUE ACCOUNT BUDGETARY CONTROL REPORT TO 31 OCTOBER 2023 (PERIOD 7) A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Resources providing an update on the financial performance to 31 October 2023 (Period 7) of the HRA revenue and capital budgets for 2023/24. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the revenue analysis showed a projected adverse variances of £3.371m. However, this would be offset by removing the £1.729m budgeted contribution from revenue to capital (CFCR) and using £1.642m of the HRA reserves, resulting in a net revenue break even position; and
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(2) to note the net projected annual position in relation to the capital plan highlights an in-year adverse variance of £61.826m (49.5%) which is made up of; re-profiling of £66.481m (53.2%) and overspend of £4.656m (0.4%) as detailed in Appendix 4 of the report. GENERAL FUND HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES FINANCIAL REPORT 2023/24 AS AT PERIOD 7 (31 OCTOBER 2023) A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Resources providing an update on the financial performance to 31 October 2023 (Period 7) of General Fund services under the auspices of the Housing and Communities Committee. After discussion the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the contents of the report which shows the revenue budget forecast to overspend against budget by £0.284m (8.6%) at the year-end; (2) to note the net projected annual position in relation to relevant capital projects is showing no projected variance; and (3) to note the progress on efficiencies incorporated into budgets for 2023/24. The meeting closed at 11.33 a.m.