Agenda item

Councillor Lesley Kelly, Cabinet Member for Housing & Public Protection, introduced the report

Members were reminded that in November 2008, Cabinet approved the Harold Hill Ambitions Plan, with the improvement of the Briar Road Estate as a priority. The report before them set out the procurement process for the selection of a Development Partner for the Briar Estate to provide new homes on small sites and redevelop the shops area.

The report recommended the approval of Notting Hill Housing Group as the Council’s preferred partner. The report also set out the background to the development of the Briar Improvements Action Plan, including the consultation to date with residents and key partners, and a summary of the environmental improvements essential for the Briar’s successful renewal, to be funded primarily through the receipts from the disposal of sites to the development partner.

Information on the evaluation of tenders submitted was available to members in an exempt appendix to the report.

Reasons for the decision:

To ensure that the London Borough of Havering had a cost effective and value for money contract awarded for the development partner for the Briar Estate.

            Other options considered:

Alternative tenders were considered the details of which were outlined in the exempt appendix to the report.

Cabinet gave assurances that consultation with local residents on the proposed redevelopment would be meaningful and that planning applications would not be submitted before consultation had taken place.

Cabinet AGREED:

1.         To approve Notting Hill Housing Group, as the Preferred Development Partner for the Briar Estate, subject to the final agreement of terms and the satisfactory conclusion of legal agreements;

2.         To approve Notting Hill Housing Group’s Variant offer as set out in the Exempt Appendix to the report.

3.         To request the Preferred Development Partner to proceed with the development of their design proposals, including consultation with residents, in order to submit a planning application(s);

4.         To authorise the Property Strategy Manager, the Head of Housing & Public Protection and the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services to provisionally agree Heads of Terms, deal with all matters arising and prepare the appropriate legal agreements with the Preferred Development Partner for the disposal and development of land in accordance with the principles of the Briar Development Brief and Improvement Proposals and subject to final approval of the terms by the Lead Members of Housing and Public Protection and Value;

5.         To authorise the Head of Housing and Public Protection under section 167 (2E) of the Housing Act 1996 to consult on the development of a local lettings scheme for the Briar developments;

6.         To authorise the Head of Housing and Public Protection to consult stakeholders on amendments to the Lettings Policy to enable specific local lettings policies to be developed for specific developments.

7.         To subject to all the above, approve £2.0 million be used to fund the schedule of Briar environmental improvements set out in para 3.13 of the report.

8.         To note that the £2m Capital Budget, as referred to in 2.6., will be an  addition to the Council’ Capital Programme, and therefore to Resolve that this addition be referred to Council, at the next appropriate  opportunity – as reported in para 5.3 of the report.