Agenda and minutes

Cllr Read welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Members’ apologies were noted as above.

Declarations of Interest by individual Members in relation to any item of business

Chris Furness declared a non-pecuniary interest in the matters to be considered at item 8 by virtue of being a director of the Bradfield Community Land Trust.

None.

None.

Updates were provided in respect of the recorded actions.

It was agreed that the minutes of the previous meeting are an accurate record and may be signed by the representative of the Head of Paid Service.

A report and presentation were received to introduce Homes England’s ‘Housing Partnerships Building Growth” initiative to the Board, and to provide an opportunity to discuss opportunities for closer collaboration on strategic housing and development matters.

It was noted the Homes England (HE) Strategic Plan 2018-23 was launched in October 2018, it sets out the organisation’s Mission and Objectives to help unlock more new homes being built in England.

Further examples were sought and provided in respect of what relationships and programmes have been developed in other city regions, particularly where devolution deals have already been agreed.

Further information was provided to explain the role and responsibility of the Cities & Urban Conurbations Team within Homes England.

Consideration was given to how the SCR might benefit from the Government’s recent ‘levelling up’ ambition for new housing delivery.

Consideration was given to how we move from demand-led delivery mechanisms to a more outcome based approach to how we want the future to look.

It was noted the SCR is developing an Energy Strategy and could seek to make the provision of sustainable energy a prerequisite for new housing and questioned whether Homes England could help support that agenda. It was noted that whilst Homes England has a statutory responsibility around sustainability, the organisation is under direction to primarily focus on housing delivery but would welcome the opportunity to look at where energy usage innovation might be considered.

Consideration was given to MMC products and how the this means of provision may be furthered. It was suggested that to be game-changing it would need the input of various public and private sector players and disciplines to tease out and address all barriers to delivery.

The meeting considered various ideas for further approaches to working in collaboration with Homes England colleagues.  It was agreed for Homes England to be afforded Associate Membership of the Board.

RESOLVED, that the Board:

·         Notes the strategic intention behind Homes England’s ongoing collaborative work with SCR.

·         Supports opportunities for closer working relationships with Homes England on strategic housing and development matters.

·         Agrees Homes England to be afforded Associate Membership of the Board.

A report was received to update the Board on progress with the first phase of the SCR Housing Review.

It was reported that following discussions at previous Board meetings, the Think Tank Respublica was commissioned to provide expertise and offer a fresh perspective and new insights on the issues being considered by the Review.

In addition, to complement this appointment and ensure that the Housing Review is well grounded in issues and opportunities specific to South Yorkshire, an Advisory Panel has also been set up for the project. The Panel is made up of experts and experienced practitioners from across South Yorkshire, including from the public, private and not for profit sectors and will inform and shape the review work.

The meeting considered other matters of pertinence that it would be useful for the review to give some reflection on.

RESOLVED, that the Board notes the progress to date and the issues and opportunities generated by this work.

A report was received to provide an update regarding the current Housing Fund programme and the work currently being carried out towards the future Housing Fund programme of projects.

RESOLVED, that the Board:

1.    Notes the update on the current Housing Fund programme;

2.    Notes the joint work to date on the future SCR Housing Fund programme in liaison with the four South Yorkshire Authorities and Homes England.

A report was received to provide an update on recent housing supply figures.

It was noted that as set out in the SCR Statement of Common Ground, all Local Planning Authorities in the city region are working to maximise the delivery of new homes in their area and across the SCR as a whole.

The latest available data on this issue provides figures for the number of net additional homes added to the housing stock in 2018/19, published as part of the Government’s statistical releases in November 2019 and based on this release, it was reported a total of 6,229 new homes were created across the city region in 2018/19.

It was noted this figure continues the generally positive trends in new homes seen since 2015/16.

The meeting recognised the need to balance ambitions for increased completions with the need to realise our place-based ambitions for the ‘right’ kind of completions for the SCR.

RESOLVED, that the Board:

1. Notes recent figures on net additional dwellings to the SCR housing stock

2. Notes the potential reasons and implications of the housing supply trends

Provided for information.

Updates were provided in respect of schemes in the pipeline causing concern and the need to maximise delivery of the programme.

No further matters were raised.