Agenda item

To receive a report on progress on capital works in housing.

The Assistant Director of Housing Delivery and Regeneration introduced the item, highlighting that works across five sites on the Lakes Estate development were moving at pace and being well received by residents, with the first completions expected in the Summer and the project being on target to deliver all 183 council homes by the end of March 2026. He added that consideration was also being given to the demolition of Serpentine Court which was about 50% vacant at that stage and highlighted regular engagement with residents and reporting from contractors on progress.

The Assistant Director then moved on to discuss the regeneration of the former Cripps Lodge site which had been the subject of a delegated decision in July 2024. He advised that this work was being funded by Right to Buy receipts and that, whilst tenders had been received for this site, officers were currently in the process of clarifying important financial considerations with contractors before they would be able to confirm the successful contractor. The Committee heard that it was expected that the build programme would last approximately two years.

The Committee then heard about progressing works under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund where Milton Keynes City Council had been successful in securing £22.7 million in government grant funding to deliver energy improvement works on approximately 1,600 council homes and bring them to an EPC C rating, whether this required extensive or relatively small works. The Assistant Director emphasised that these works extended the life of the properties and offered improvements for the residents in terms of reduced energy bills and quality of housing. He advised that there was a further wave of funding for these works that the Council had submitted a bid for and were awaiting the outcomes but that this funding could only be used for council housing and not to support any owner occupiers.

Finally the Assistant Director drew the Committee’s attention to the annexes in relation to the social value being added to communities where regeneration was taking place including employing local people and offering apprenticeships.

The Committee then heard from representatives from 3 Estate Renewal Forums; The Lakes Estate, Bradville and Fullers Slade who gave examples of the projects and events they were involved in that benefitted the residents in their areas including things such as bingo, trips to the seaside, consultations on equipment to be installed in their park, offering warm spaces, Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme activities and heritage clubs amongst other items.

Following a question from the Committee the Assistant Director confirmed that the Council was attempting to secure funding for further regeneration projects but given the current pressures on the Housing Revenue Account no such funding had yet been secured. He added that officers were continuing to have conversations with central Government and Homes England to see where further funding could be sourced and should a percentage of the current Right to Buy applications move forward there may be further Right to Buy receipts that could be reinvested into further projects.

In reference to Serpentine Court the Assistant Director added that the ambition was to demolish in summer 2026 and surveys and planning permissions were being progressed for this to take place. He advised that officers were looking into a use for the site before redevelopment took place to ensure that residents still had access to sites such as the school.

Further information was given about the development on the Lakes Estate with the Committee hearing that Homes England had conducted an audit which had come back with no recommendations for improvement and as such there was a high level of confidence in the work being carried out.

Members of the Committee gave feedback that communities benefitting from the decarbonisation works appeared to have a renewed sense of pride and homeowners were concerned that their homes appeared run down in comparison to the social housing. The Assistant Director advised that the Council did on occasion buy back properties which had been sold under Right to Buy and there were also works ongoing with some private companies about supporting homeowners to know what grants they may be entitled to apply for and the impact that these schemes may have on their properties.

A question was asked regarding the construction of accessible housing for those with specific requirements. The Assistant Director advised that a percentage of properties on the estate would have to be fully accessible as per the planning permission granted and anyone on the housing register would provide full details of their needs so it would be possible to instruct the contractors ahead of installation if properties required things like lower kitchen work surfaces. The Head of Homelessness and Tenancy Management added that the allocations team worked closely with Occupational Therapy to understand the specific requirements of each person and works were being conducted to enable forecasting of what types of property are likely to be needed in the future.

In response to a question from the Committee the Assistant Director advised that the site of the former Cripps Lodge had been selected for redevelopment as planning permission had been secured and it was a site of a size that allowed for various types of housing to be constructed from bungalows to 5 bed houses which would be beneficial for filling gaps in current social housing provision where there was more demand than availability.

The Director of Adult Services provided the Committee with information regarding the Disabled Facilities Grant which covered major adaptations to properties to allow a disabled person to continue to live in that property. The Committee noted that the creation and adaptation of properties to be accessible was an important topic for consideration.

RESOLVED –

1.      That the report be noted.

2.      That the Committee support the principle of strong resident engagement in regeneration projects.

3.      That consideration be given to how further funding may be made available for further regeneration across the city.