Agenda item

Recommendations

 

The Executive is asked to:-

 

i)      Delegate approval of the overarching business plan for the JV to the Shareholder Committee;

ii)     Agree to enter into a Joint Venture with Lovell Partnerships and enter into a Limited Liability Partnership based on the terms set out in this report;

iii)    Delegate the finalisation of the legal documents as set out in Paragraph 10.1- 10.3 to the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services;

iv)   Agree to the conditional disposal of Sandsend Road, Whitby and Eastfield, Scarborough;

v)     Delegate the agreement of the final sales price to the Corporate Director Resources (S151) in line with Appendix B paragraph 3 and 4;

vi)   Delegate the naming and branding of the JV to the Corporate Director Community Development in consultation with the Executive Member for Culture, Arts and Housing;

vii)  Appoint the Corporate Director Community Development, Assistant Director Resource (Environment) and Assistant Director Legal Operation as JV representatives to the JV Board;

viii) Agree that the initial capital and revenue receipts from the JV up to a value of £5m are used to create a Council budget to support JV work including providing A-loan notes to the JV;

ix)   Delegate approval of loans or expenditure funded by the £5m allocation set out in viii) to the Corporate Director Community Development in consultation with Corporate Director Resources (S151);

x)     Agree to enter forward purchase agreements to purchase homes for the HRA from the Joint Venture as set out in paragraph 6.2 in Appendix A and in line with the existing Housing Delivery Programme budget;

xi)   Recommend to full Council the amendments to the Council’s constitution as set out in Appendix E.

Considered – A report of the Corporate Director Community Development seeking approval to establish a Joint Venture with Lovell Partnerships Ltd to accelerate housing delivery across North Yorkshire and approve the conditional disposal of the first two proposed development sites at Sandsend Road, Whitby and Eastfield, Scarborough.

 

The Leader, Councillor Carl Les, advised that a number of letters which had been received by Executive Members on the report, the majority of which related to a planning application in Whitby which had not yet been submitted.

 

The Executive Member for Culture, Arts and Housing, Councillor Simon Myers, introduced the report and explained that the proposal built upon work commenced by the former Scarborough Borough Council. Following local government reorganisation, the opportunity had been reviewed in the context of the Council’s wider housing ambitions, increasing housing targets and the shortage of affordable and social rented homes across North Yorkshire. The proposed Joint Venture could provide a long-term mechanism for delivering new housing, affordable homes and social value whilst generating returns for the Council. The Executive Member acknowledged that joint ventures carried risks and therefore considerable work had been undertaken to establish governance arrangements, safeguards and oversight mechanisms to protect the Council’s interests. It was explained that the first two sites would enable the Council to assess the effectiveness of the arrangement before considering any future expansion.

 

A public statement was read out by Andy Jefferson on behalf of Whitby Community Network CIC as detailed at Minute 940 and a response was provided by the Executive Member which also addressed points made in the other correspondence received.  The Executive Member also referred to a letter from Ms Phillips and stated that everything possible had been done to mitigate potential risks and emphasised the development of a framework to protect the Council from undue risk.

 

During debate, Members emphasised the distinction between approval of the Joint Venture and any future planning decisions relating to specific sites and it was noted that planning applications would be determined independently through the established planning process. Members recognised the need to address housing shortages, particularly on the coast, and would explore mechanisms to ensure new homes remained available as primary residences and did not become holiday homes.  Councillor Goodrick suggested the Joint Venture might represent an opportunity to provide accommodation for care leavers. Support was expressed for the safeguards built into the arrangements and for the phased approach which limited the Council’s exposure whilst allowing the model to be tested.

 

Resolved (unanimously)

 

That Executive

 

i)      Delegate approval of the overarching business plan for the JV to the Shareholder Committee

 

ii)     Agree to enter into a Joint Venture with Lovell Partnerships and enter into a Limited Liability Partnership based on the terms set out in this report

 

iii)    Delegate the finalisation of the legal documents as set out in Paragraph 10.1- 10.3 to the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services

 

iv)   Agree to the conditional disposal of Sandsend Road, Whitby and Eastfield, Scarborough

 

v)     Delegate the agreement of the final sales price to the Corporate Director Resources (S151) in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance and Resources in line with Appendix B paragraph 3 and 4

 

vi)   Delegate the naming and branding of the Joint Venture to the Corporate Director Community Development in consultation with the Executive Member for Culture, Arts and Housing

 

vii)  Appoint the Corporate Director Community Development, Assistant Director Resource (Environment) and Assistant Director Legal Operation as Joint Venture representatives to the Joint Venture Board

 

viii) Agree that the initial capital and revenue receipts from the Joint Venture up to a value of £5m are used to create a Council budget to support Joint Venture work including providing A-loan notes to the Joint Venture

 

ix)   Delegate approval of loans or expenditure funded by the £5m allocation set out in viii) to the Corporate Director Community Development in consultation with Corporate Director Resources (S151) and the Executive Member for Culture, Arts and Housing and the Executive Member for Finance and Resources

 

x)     Agree to enter forward purchase agreements to purchase homes for the HRA from the Joint Venture as set out in paragraph 6.2 in Appendix A and in line with the existing Housing Delivery Programme budget

 

xi)   Recommend to full Council the amendments to the Council’s constitution as set out in Appendix E.

 

Reasons for recommendations

 

The recommendations will allow the Council to set up a Limited Liability Partnership with Lovell Partnerships increasing overall housing delivery capacity and support the delivery of the Council’s 500 new homes programme into the HRA.

 

Alternative options considered

 

As set out in the report to Executive on 17 June 2025, a full Options Appraisal was previously carried out by Scarborough Borough Council, which considered a range of options for taking land forward.  Not to progress with the Joint Venture has also been considered, however, this would significantly impact our housing delivery and ability to deliver the HRA 500 new homes programme.