Agenda item

Officer: Shifa Mustafa

Key decision: yes

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To

1.    Approve the borrowing facility of up to £30.6m to enable the investment in the acquisition of 165 new homes from Brick by Brick Croydon (Limited) (‘Brick by Brick’) to be let at council rents  

2.    Approve the use of up to £8.04m Right to Buy Receipts to reduce the level of borrowing required 

3.    Agree to the propose that the rental levels for the properties held within the HRA to be charged on a formula rent basis  

4.    Delegate to the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Homes and Gateway Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources the authority to approve of the purchase of affordable rented units constructed by Brick by Brick as council homes 

5.    Note the proposed purchase of additional Brick by Brick homes for use as Emergency Temporary Accommodation in line with the Cabinet decision taken in March 2020 under the Increasing Housing Supply paper. 

The Cabinet Member for Homes & Gateway Services introduced the report and noted that too many residents did not have a place to call home and the pandemic had highlighted further that good quality homes were needed, and to prevent overcrowding. She explained that on average private renting was an additional £100-200 extra per-month and that Croydon was the fifteenth most deprived authority in England in terms of housing. The borrowing facility of up to £30.6m was to enable the investment in the acquisition of 165 new homes from Brick by Brick to be let at council rents, providing residents with new, sustainable, good homes.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Housing and Gateway Services welcomed the addition of new homes for Croydon and expressed that she shared the importance of having a safe and secure home. She did, however, express concern for transparency regarding Brick by Brick; a resident had reviewed Brick by Brick online, and had stated that they had received bad customer service.

In response to Councillor Lynne Hale, Councillor Alison Butler expressed disappointment for the bad review and noted that residents could email her to raise with Brick by Brick. She explained that they were high quality homes, with a high level of investment in to sustainability, and were for Croydon residents. She further added that Brick by Brick were selling homes daily, and would offer the purchase of homes to the council first.

In response to the Shadow Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport, the Leader clarified that homes without a dishwasher were not substandard. The Shadow Cabinet Member explained that there was clearly a deficiency in homes and everybody deserved good quality homes. She added that she did not agree with the development on open green spaces and public parks. Councillor Alison Butler invited Councillor Helen Pollard on a tour of some Brick by Brick properties, as they were of high standard with happy tenants. The properties were all built sustainably and were not built on children’s playgrounds as previously claimed; the borough had a huge challenge to provide homes that were desperately needed, and a lot of consideration went in to where these would be placed.

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To

1.     Approve the borrowing facility of up to £30.6m to enable the investment in the acquisition of 165 new homes from Brick by Brick Croydon (Limited) (‘Brick by Brick’) to be let at council rents  

2.     Approve the use of up to £8.04m Right to Buy Receipts to reduce the level of borrowing required 

3.     Agree to the propose that the rental levels for the properties held within the HRA to be charged on a formula rent basis  

4.     Delegate to the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Homes and Gateway Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources the authority to approve of the purchase of affordable rented units constructed by Brick by Brick as council homes 

5.     Note the proposed purchase of additional Brick by Brick homes for use as Emergency Temporary Accommodation in line with the Cabinet decision taken in March 2020 under the Increasing Housing Supply paper.