Agenda, decisions and minutes

No declarations of interest were made.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 24 March 2015 (copy enclosed).

            That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 24 March 2015 had been circulated to Members with the agenda.

            RESOLVED:

            That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

To receive a presentation by Mr Graham Worthington from Pennaf Housing Association and to meet with representatives of Pennaf Housing Association.

That the presentation be received.

The Chairman introduced Mr. Graham Worthinghton and his colleagues, Mr. Evans, Mr. Roberts and Mr. Moore to the Committee.

Mr. Worthington and Mr. Evans jointly provided a detailed presentation to the Committee about the work of Pennaf Housing Association, the key features of which were:-

·         Core Principles

·         Governance Structure

·         Areas of Operation

·         Housing Provision

·         General Needs

·         Care & Support

·         Extra Care

·         Community Activities

·         Development Schemes on Site

·         Yowley Road, Ewloe

·         Aston Mead, Queensferry

·         Flint Extra Care

·         Grow Your Own

·         Social Enterprise

·         2015/20 Proposals

·         Statutory Partners

On the issue of Extra Care facilities, Councillor Ray Hughes asked if consideration had been given to building extra care homes in rural areas.  Mr. Worthington responded that a rural model had been considered but there would be a need to determine whether such a proposal was financially viable and sustainable.  Mr. Evans gave an example of a joint venture that had been developed in Llanrwst for 40 units with a doctor’s surgery attached. 

Councillor Rosetta Dolphin spoke of the flats for over 50s in her ward, which she felt were very successful, and asked if there were any plans to develop similar properties to allow the older generation to move out of their larger homes to allow families to move into them.  Mr. Worthington agreed that there was a need and said that consideration would be given to what could be undertaken based on demands in areas. 

The Chairman thanked Mr. Worthington and Mr. Evans for their presentation. 

RESOLVED:

That the presentation be received.           

(a)       That the proposed Flintshire House Standard Design Principles and Standards be agreed; and

(b)       That the indicative sites identified for inclusion within the SHARP for further investigation and feasibility investigation work be agreed. 

The Chief Officer (Community and Enterprise) introduced a report to provide an update and an opportunity to influence Flintshire’s Strategic Housing and Regeneration Programme (SHARP). 

She detailed the background to the report and commented on the work that had been undertaken as part of the SHARP project, explaining that clearance of the maisonettes sites in Flint was nearing completion.  The four bidders who had been invited to take part in the tender process were detailed in the report and final evaluation of the bids would need to be undertaken to allow for the contract to be awarded during May 2015, after Cabinet approval had been obtained.  It was anticipated that work on site would start in late 2015 or early 2016 and work had commenced with colleagues in Planning and other areas to ensure that the Council was as prepared as possible.  The Commissioning Objectives were detailed in appendix 1 and paragraph 2.03 and included that the quality of the properties would be of a high quality and design.  The Chief Officer explained that an indicative list of development sites had been provided to Bidders and the sites that had been approved by Cabinet in September 2014 were detailed in the report. 

A Task and Finish Group had been established which included Members, staff representatives and tenants to look at the scheme in details and it had agreed that some of the principles of lifetime homes would be adopted.  The Chief Officer explained that this would include designing properties to minimise future costs and she commented on the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) programme.  Appendix 3 detailed the Flintshire Housing Standard which included the provision of adequate built in storage in each of the properties.  A list of the sites which had already been approved and proposed additional sites were reported in appendix 2 as well as sites which required further feasibility work.  The Chief Officer explained that one area where work had not been fully completed was the garage review.  She reminded Members that of the 500 homes that were proposed over the five year period, 200 would be Council properties and 300 would be affordable homes. 

The Chairman welcomed the exciting work that was being undertaken.  In response to a comment from the Chairman, the Chief Officer said that Flintshire’s procurement model had been shared at a Wales-wide Housing Group meeting; in this area Flintshire was more advanced than other Councils.

In referring to the number of sites arising from the review of the Housing Revenue Account garage sites, Councillor Rosetta Dolphin spoke of the importance of space both inside and outside of properties.  She sought clarification on the anticipated size of a one bed two person flat and in response, the Chief Officer explained that the sizes shown would be a minimum and would comply with Welsh Government design quality standards.  She agreed to send further information to the Committee about anticipated sizes for properties.  The concerns of Members would be noted and considered as schemes were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74.

            That the Forward Work Programme be updated accordingly. 

The Housing and Learning Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator introduced the report to consider the Forward Work Programme for the Committee. 

            The Facilitator advised that the Update on Tenant Involvement which had been due to be considered at the meeting of the Committee scheduled for 20 May 2015 would now be submitted to the 8 July 2015 meeting.  It had previously been agreed that the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee would be invited to attend the 20 May 2015 meeting for the Welfare Reform Update.  However, if the new structure of the Overview & Scrutiny Committees was agreed at the Annual Meeting, then Welfare Reform would be within the remit of this Committee and therefore there would be no need to invite the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee. 

            Councillor Nancy Matthews praised the work that had been undertaken since she had previously been on the Committee.  Councillor George Hardcastle asked the Chief Officer (Community and Enterprise) to thank the Housing Team for their hard work on behalf of the Committee.        

            RESOLVED:

            That the Forward Work Programme be updated accordingly. 

                        There was one member of the public in attendance.