Issue - meetings

Cabinet discussed proposals for the transfer of an area of land off Highfield Road in Ramsgate to the Housing Revenue Account for the development of affordable housing. This piece of land was a small site with an initially assessed capacity for up to 27 homes. The site had already been allocated for residential use within the Thanet Local Plan. The site was situated close to existing residential dwellings in Highfield Road, Ramsgate and directly adjoins the back gardens of existing houses. It was also adjacent to the sports facilities at Jackey Bakers and has previously been used as parking linked to the sports provision. The area is currently fenced off and unused.

Initial planning advice was that a smaller scale development of approximately 20 homes would be more suitable. Independent valuation advice had been obtained and was set out in the Cabinet report. The final value would depend upon the final scale of the consented scheme, once planning permission had been obtained. Where a property was transferred between the HRA and any other revenue account within the General Fund, a corresponding adjustment to the Capital Financing Requirement was made between accounts. This had the effect of reducing the level of debt allocated to the council’s general fund and the revenue cost of supporting this debt, potentially making future general fund capital investment more affordable.

The affordable homes to be provided on this site were very much needed in Thanet.  The council’s most recent Housing Needs study identified that our district needed 548 new affordable homes each year to meet the needs of the local community and the council’s house building programme made an important contribution to this.  In November 2022, Cabinet reviewed the council’s housing development programme and agreed to allocate an initial £7.9m to a phase 5 programme, with potential to deliver 25-30 units in the financial year 2025/26. The site off of Highfield Road would make a significant contribution to the delivery of this commitment.

In order to remove any potential misunderstanding regarding what the report was referring to, Cabinet also noted that para 3.2 of the Cabinet report should read as follows:

  “Note the additional borrowing capabilities of the general fund of between £489k and £611k which could be utilised for future improvements at Jackie Bakers sports field.”

Councillor Everitt spoke under council Procedure rule 20.1.

Councillor Jill Bayford proposed, Councillor Saunders seconded and Cabinet agreed:

1.  To the transfer of land from the General Fund account to the Housing Revenue account to enable it to be developed for Affordable Housing;

2.  To prepare and submit an application for planning consent for the development of affordable homes, including necessary technical site assessments and community consultation;

3.  To consider a further report to authorise the letting of a construction contract, once a detailed scheme has been developed.