Chichester District Council
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Increasing the Provision of the Council's Temporary Accommodation at Freeland Close, Chichester

Meeting: 22/01/2019 - Council (Item 57)

Increasing the Provision of the Council's Temporary Accommodation at Freeland Close Chichester

The material relevant to this item is the report on pages 39 to 43 of the agenda and 21 to 43 of the (main) agenda supplement considered by the Cabinet at its meeting on Tuesday 4 December 2018.

 

The following recommendation was made by the Cabinet to the Council:

 

RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL

 

That the allocation of £102,000 from the Housing Investment Reserve be approved to enable the scheme design to be finalised and submitted for planning approval.

 

Minutes:

The Council considered the recommendation made to it by the Cabinet at its meeting on Tuesday 4 December 2018, as set out in pages 39 to 43 of the agenda report and pages 21 to 43 of the agenda supplement for that meeting.  

 

Mrs J Kilby (Cabinet Member for Housing Services) formally moved the Cabinet’s recommendation and this was seconded by Mrs E Lintill (Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Community Services).

 

In presenting the Cabinet’s recommendation Mrs Kilby said that during the preceding six months there had been an increase of more than 13% in the number of people who were homeless contacting CDC, which included many families. The existing emergency accommodation had been operating at full capacity for the past year and there had been problems trying to find suitable accommodation for larger families, with the consequent unfortunate result that it had been necessary to resort to bed and breakfast accommodation, often outside Chichester District. This was far from ideal for those involved, especially for families with young children.

 

In December 2017 CDC had purchased a property adjacent to its existing temporary accommodation, since when it had been bought back into use to provide four one-bedroom flats as temporary accommodation while a full options appraisal to evaluate the most effective use of the property was undertaken. A budget of £15,000 had been approved for that appraisal and also a further £10,000 to progress the preferred option to the planning application stage. Since the Cabinet’s approval of the initial project initiation document (PID) in February 2017, it had become apparent that there were greater development opportunities on the site than originally anticipated. Following the appraisal it was proposed to demolish and rebuild the existing building and to provide a flexible property asset which could provide up to 21 units of additional short-term accommodation for homeless families and single vulnerable people. As a result, consultancy costs to bring a scheme to planning permission had risen to reflect the size and scope of the development: now £40,000 rather than the original estimate of £10,000. The cost to finalise the design after a grant of planning permission was estimated at £72,000.

 

Accordingly it was proposed that the Council should be asked to approve the allocation of £102,000 from the Housing Investment Reserve, which would enable the scheme design to be fully developed to conduct the procurement and take all steps including seeking tenders up to the award of contract stage. Contractors’ bids would be presented to the Cabinet following their receipt and analysis for an award of contract to be agreed. At that stage approval would be sought from the Council for funds to cover the costs of the redevelopment.

 

The preferred option set out in the PID would give CDC an opportunity to provide many more units of flexible temporary accommodation, making it easier to house larger families. This project would make a real long-term difference to homeless families in Chichester District.

 

Several members commended the project, which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57


Meeting: 04/12/2018 - Cabinet (Item 619)

619 Increasing the Provision of the Council's Temporary Accommodation at Freeland Close Chichester pdf icon PDF 70 KB

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its appendix in the agenda supplement and to make the resolutions and also the recommendation to the Council which are set out below:

 

A – RESOLUTIONS BY THE CABINET

 

(1)  That the Project Initiation Document (PID) and timescales set out in the appendix to the agenda report be approved.

 

(2)  That the preferred option, option 3 set out in section 8 of the PID, be progressed to detailed design stage and a planning application being submitted and, following planning approval, the scheme design be finalised ready for invitation of tenders. 

 

(3)  That the Director of Housing and Communities be authorised to conduct the procurement, invite tenders and take all steps up to, but not including, award of contract.

 

(4)  That the contactor bids be presented to the Cabinet following the receipt and analysis of tenders for award of contract.

 

B – RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL

 

That the allocation of £102,000 from the Housing Investment Reserve be approved to enable the scheme design to be finalised and submitted for planning approval.

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED

 

(1)  That the Project Initiation Document (PID) and timescales set out in the appendix to the agenda report be approved.

 

(2)  That the preferred option, option 3 set out in section 8 of the PID, be progressed to detailed design stage and a planning application being submitted and, following planning approval, the scheme design be finalised ready for invitation of tenders. 

 

(3)  That the Director of Housing and Communities be authorised to conduct the procurement, invite tenders and take all steps up to, but not including, award of contract.

 

(4)  That the contactor bids be presented to the Cabinet following the receipt and analysis of tenders for award of contract.

 

RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL

 

That the allocation of £102,000 from the Housing Investment Reserve be approved to enable the scheme design to be finalised and submitted for planning approval.

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet received and considered the agenda report and its appendix, the Project Initiation Document (PID), in the main agenda supplement.

 

This item was presented by Mrs J Kilby (Cabinet Member for Housing Services).

 

Miss H Nicol (Housing Delivery Manager) and Mrs L Grange (Divisional Manager Housing) were in attendance for this matter.

 

Mrs Kilby said that during the preceding six months there had been an increase of more than 13% in the number of people who were homeless contacting CDC, which included many families. The existing emergency accommodation had been operating at full capacity for the past year and there had been problems trying to find suitable accommodation for larger families, with the consequent unfortunate result that it had been necessary to resort to bed and breakfast accommodation, often outside Chichester District. This was far from ideal for those involved, especially for families with young children. In December 2017 CDC had purchased a property adjacent to its existing temporary accommodation, since when it had been bought back into use to provide four one-bedroom flats as temporary accommodation while a full options appraisal to evaluate the most effective use of the property was undertaken. A budget of £15,000 had been approved for the full options appraisal and also a further £10,000 to progress the preferred option to the planning application stage. Since the Cabinet’s approval of the initial PID in February 2017, it had become apparent that there were greater development opportunities on the site than originally anticipated. Following a full options appraisal it was proposed to demolish and rebuild the existing building and to provide a flexible property asset which could provide up to 21 units of additional short-term accommodation for homeless families and single vulnerable people. As a result, consultancy costs to bring a scheme to planning permission had risen to reflect the size and scope of the development: now £40,000 rather than the original estimate of £10,000. The cost to finalise the design after a grant of planning permission was estimated at £72,000. Accordingly it was proposed that the Council should be asked to approve the allocation of £102,000 from the Housing Investment Reserve, which would enable the scheme design to be fully developed to conduct the procurement and take all steps including seeking tenders up to the award of contract stage. Contractors’ bids would be presented to the Cabinet following their receipt and analysis for an award of contract to be agreed. At that stage approval would be sought from the Council for funds to cover the costs of the redevelopment. The preferred option set out in the PID would give CDC an opportunity to provide many more units of flexible temporary accommodation, making it easier to house larger families. This project would make a real long-term difference to homeless families in Chichester District.

 

Miss Nicol and Mrs Grange did not add to Mrs Kilby’s presentation. 

 

Members expressed their full support for this initiative to alleviate homelessness, including the provision of flexible units for families of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 619


 

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