Agenda item

To consider the joint report of the Director of City Development and the Director of Resources and Housing which outlines a proposal to purchase a portfolio of at least 40 flats at Kingsdale Court, Seacroft, as part of a co-ordinated response by the Council and other partner services to resolving acute neighbourhood management issues and extremely poor housing conditions.

(Please note that Appendix 2 to this report is designated as being exempt from publication under the provisions of Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4 (3))

The Director of City Development and the Director of Resources and Housing submitted a joint report which outlined a proposal to purchase a portfolio of at least 40 flats at Kingsdale Court, Seacroft, as part of a co-ordinated response by the Council and other partner services to resolving acute neighbourhood management issues and extremely poor housing conditions.

Members were supportive of the recommendations presented in the submitted report, however, in response to Members’ comments the Board received further detail regarding the actions being taken to mitigate against risk associated with the proposals, with it being noted that appropriate due diligence processes were in place.

In discussing the current position in relation to the properties at Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive, and in response to a Member’s enquiries, the Board was provided with information which explained the reasons for the proposed actions to address the specific issues at Kingsdale Court and how that position differed to that of Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive, with it being noted that liaison with the residents of Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive would continue as part of the support provided to them by the Council.

Following consideration of Appendix 2 to the submitted report designated as being exempt from publication under the provisions of Access to Information

Procedure Rule 10.4(3), which was considered in private at the conclusion of the public part of the meeting, it was

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the use of Housing Revenue Account capital funding in line with the detail, as set out in exempt Appendix 2 to the submitted report, be approved, in order to enable the acquisition of a portfolio of at least 40 flats at Kingsdale Court, Seacroft, and that having agreed resolution (b) (below), the final negotiations of the terms be delegated to the Director of City Development in consultation with the Director of Resources and Housing and the Executive Member for ‘Communities’;

(b)  That the terms of acquisition, as contained within exempt Appendix 2 to the submitted report, be approved;

(c)  That in principle support be agreed for Directors to pursue further acquisitions to enable full assembly of the Kingsdale Court site and its redevelopment, with the relevant delegations available to Directors for this, being noted; 

(d)  That it be noted that the Council has the potential to use its Compulsory Purchase powers to support any assembly of the site should they be required, with it also being noted that any such proposal would be the subject of a further report;

(e)  That approval be given for the resolutions within this minute to be exempted from the Call In process, for those reasons as detailed within paragraph 4.5.5 – 4.5.6 of the submitted report.

(The Council’s Executive and Decision Making Procedure Rules state that a decision may be declared as being exempt from the Call In process by the decision taker if it is considered that the matter is urgent and any delay would seriously prejudice the Council’s, or the public’s interests. In line with this, the resolutions contained within this minute were exempted from the Call In process, as per resolution (e) above, and for the reasons as detailed within section 4.5.5 – 4.5.6 of the submitted report)