Agenda item

To consider a report by the Director of Environment and Housing which sets out the proposed Housing Leeds HRA Capital Programme 2014/15, and request the Board to endorse the Programme for approval by Executive Board in February 2014. 

The report also invites Members to consider the need for revisions to the Leeds Decent Home Standard and in particular to take account of the need to address energy efficient requirements.

(Report attached)

The Director of Environment and Housing submitted a report which set out the proposed Housing Leeds HRA Capital Programme 2014/ 15.

The report sought Members’ views on revisions to the Leeds Decent Homes Standard and in particular to give thermal efficiency requirements greater prominence

The report also asks the Housing Advisory Board to endorse the programme for approval by the Executive Board at its meeting on 14^th February 2014.

Appended to the report was the proposed Capital Programme 2014/15

Steve Hunt, Chief Officer, Property and Contracts, Housing Leeds presented the report and responded to Members queries and comments

Detailed discussion ensued on the contents of the report which included:

·  Resources available

·  Investment priorities

·  Headline spend items (Empty properties, Adaptations, Decency, Fire Safety, Heating upgrades, Sheltered Housing upgrades and Multi storey works)

·  How do we spend additional resources?

·  Emerging investment needs.

Specific issues raised by Board Members included:

·  Energy efficiency schemes in multi storey blocks

·  Highway works/ Car parking issues

·  Refuse collection issues/ Provision of brown bins

In offering comment, Councillor Bentley welcomed the focus on energy/ thermal efficiency.

Referring to Council Estates in general, Councillor Bentley suggested that individual homes tended to be of a good standard but on occasion were let down by the poor condition of the estate. Could there be a focus on the estate rather than the individual home?

Jo Hourigan (Tenant Representative) welcomed the proposals around energy efficiency schemes.

David Glew (Co-opted Member) also welcomed the focus around energy efficiency. In offering comment he referred to the practice of “piggy backing” i.e. scheduling additional services to be carried out at the same time as a major job e.g. when replacing boilers, draft exclusion measures could also be  carried out.

In responding to highway and car parking issues, Steve Hunt said any such works were often expensive with the need to re-position drains, gas/ electric supply which was a considerable addition to the costs. 

The Chair confirmed that car parking and highway works were often very expensive and suggested the possibility of Housing Services employing their own contactors to carry out such works which covered large areas.

Commenting on the suggestion to address the poor condition of some estates, the Director of Environment and Housing said this was a useful suggestion and it was for Members of the Board to influence such choices.

In summing up the Chair thanked Mr Hunt for his presentation commenting it had been an informative report and stimulated much discussion.

The Chair acknowledged that Members were generally supportive of including energy efficiency measures and added that Leeds needed to determine its own decency standard

RESOLVED –

(i)  That the Executive Board be recommended to endorse the proposed Housing Leeds HRA Capital Programme 2014/15

(ii)  To recommend to the Executive Board that approval be given to  develop a Leeds Decent Homes Standard which gives greater prominence to thermal efficiency requirements

(iii)  That the Director of Environment and Housing be requested to investigate the possibility of using some of the un-committed capital programme resources to address environmental conditions on estates.