Cllr Kendall raised that on Item 314 of the previous minutes, it was not mentioned that the Liberal Democrats asked for a deferral on Ingleton House, to allow for more discussions with the NHS. Cllr Pearson requested a change to 318, Rent Setting Policy. The wording “This increase to rents is a welcomed one for residents…” should be changed to “This capped increase to rents is a welcomed one for residents…”. Subject to these amendments, the minutes were agreed.

The report began on page 13 and highlighted all the work the Housing Department have done over the past year.

The report began on page 29 and highlighted further work the team have done.

A presentation will be given on the night.

Kellie Turner from Axis gave a presentation to committee members. Eamon O'Donnell and Sarah Taylor from Axis were also in attendance.

Key Performance indicators are collected across all services in the Housing Department and help monitor how we are performing across a set list of key areas.

This report presents these Key Performance Indicators to Members of the Housing Committee with a commentary for each one which details why we are under performing and noting where a high level of performance has been achieved.

Cllr Hossack asked that going forward, a column for sector benchmark was added and the team gave information on how good we are in the sector average.

This item was for information only and no voting was required.

This report was an update for members to note and presents the Policy Review Schedule to ensure that the Housing Department has the relevant Strategies and Policies in place in order to provide a clear framework of its responsibilities.

This item was for information only and no voting was required.

The current policy, which was approved at Enforcement, Environment and Housing committee on 17th March 2020 (minute no.29) set out the proposals for a new Water Hygiene Policy to be implemented within the Housing Department.

The Policy has been reviewed and updated to ensure the Council meets all its statutory requirements. No legislative changes have been implemented since the last policy was approved in March 2020.

Following a full discussion, Cllr Pearson MOVED and Cllr Hossack SECONDED the recommendations in the report. A vote was taken and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY that:

Members were asked to:

Approve the Housing Water Hygiene Policy.

Reasons for Recommendation

It is a statutory requirement for the Council to have a Water Hygiene Policy. Failure to have one will leave the Council in a vulnerable position should a legionella outbreak occur.

Active Asset Management  is ensuring that our homes are affordable and attractive to tenants and are financially viable in the  medium to long term.

This item was for information only and no voting was required.

This report set out the energy efficiency approach that is being adopted by Brentwood Council for its social housing assets and the measures being implemented.

This item was for information only and no voting was required.

This report summarised progress since last reported to Committee on 12th December 2022 of the development of the new affordable homes at ‘Harewood Regeneration’ through the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) owned sites. As a reminder, this site is within the Strategic Housing Delivery Programme (SHDP) which is made up of two distinct elements, 1) the regeneration of Brookfield Close and Courage Court, Hutton to develop 62 zero carbon homes alongside the Harewood Regeneration Project consisting of around 40 new zero carbon homes, and 2) the development of a range of smaller HRA sites to deliver a further 80 Zero Carbon homes on a further 8 council owned sites.

The Council’s Corporate Strategy ‘Brentwood 2025’ commits to Introducing “innovative Carbon reduction and absorption schemes”, “identify opportunities for low emission and green developments” and using ‘brownfield sites efficiently, such as council owned garage sites, to provide affordable homes…”

It was requested that more oversight and detail on how much of the discretionary payments goes towards arrears was provided.

Following a full discussion, Cllr Pearson MOVED and Cllr Hossack SECONDED the recommendations in the report. A vote was taken and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY that:

Members were asked to:

Approve the ‘Landlord Offer’ to residents affected by the Council’s housing regeneration activity attached as Appendix A to this report.

Approve the commencement of the decanting of residents at Harewood Regeneration under the terms specified in the ‘Landlord Offer’.

At 9:00pm in accordance with Rule 10.1 of the Council’s procedural rules, Members RESOLVED to continue the meeting for a further 30 minutes.

This report summarised progress of the development of a pipeline of new affordable homes through the development and regeneration of various Housing Revenue Account (HRA) owned sites. As a reminder, this Strategic Housing Delivery Programme (SHDP) is made up of two distinct elements, 1) the regeneration of Brookfield Close and Courage Court, Hutton to develop 62 zero carbon homes alongside the Harewood Regeneration Project consisting of 40 new zero carbon homes, and 2) the development of a range of smaller HRA sites to deliver a further 80 Zero Carbon homes on a further 8 council owned sites.

The Council’s Corporate Strategy ‘Brentwood 2025’ commits to Introducing “innovative Carbon reduction and absorption schemes”, “identify opportunities for low emission and green developments” and using ‘brownfield sites efficiently, such as council owned garage sites, to provide affordable homes…”

Following a full discussion, Cllr Pearson MOVED and Cllr Hossack SECONDED the recommendations in the report. A vote was taken and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY that:

Members were requested to:

To note continuing progress in the delivery of new Council homes through the SHDP.

There were no items of urgent business to discuss.

Cllr Pearson MOVED and Cllr Hossack SECONDED that the public were excluded from Items 13 on the grounds that it may disclose exempt information as defined in schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. This was approved by committee members.

This item is exempt from the press and public.

The public were excluded from the meeting for the item of business on the grounds that the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 was involved.

This item was for information only and no voting was required.

Cllr Kendall thanked Cllr Pearson, who is not standing at this year’s election, for her hard work on Housing Committee over the years.

The meeting concluded at 21:17

Apologies were received from Cllr White, with Cllr Hossack substituting. Cllr Pearson MOVED and Cllr Poppy SECONDED that after noting the Cllr White’s absence as Chair, Cllr Pearson should act as Chair and Cllr Hossack as Vice-Chair. This was agreed by all.