Agenda item

The Committee gave consideration to a report presented by the Homes, Health & Wellbeing Team Manager, seeking to provide an update on the Gainsborough Housing and Support project being delivered in partnership with P3. It was explained that in 2020, the Council and P3 entered into a partnership to deliver a viable housing solution for Gainsborough. This was named the Gainsborough Housing and Support project. The vision for the project was “To improve the lives of and the opportunities for the people in the South-West Ward of Gainsborough through the provision of affordable, quality, sustainable housing” 

The project set out to deliver circa 100 properties that P3 would rent at an affordable rent focussing on the South West Ward of Gainsborough within a 5-10 year period and disrupt the private rented sector in that area which made up almost 50% of the housing with the ward. The project was designed to rejuvenate the housing stock and the environment across the South-West Ward of Gainsborough and deliver on a number of key areas of social return which included:

·         Safe, affordable and quality housing

·         A safer place to live

·         Community stability

·         A lifetime tenancy for the people of Gainsborough

Members heard that in its first two and a half years the project has been successful in securing 64 properties in the South West Ward of Gainsborough, which had also brought 18 empty properties back into use. Officers were keen to understand the value of the impact of the project, and so engaged with Red Quadrant to undertake an evaluation. Red Quadrant, as an impartial party, were able to engage with P3, Council Officers and Members, along with some partners in the voluntary sector and P3 tenants of the project, to gain a full picture of the project and the impact it was having against the detailed outcomes.

It was also important, with this being a long term project, for a set of baseline data to be determined, from which Officers could start to monitor wider successes of the project rather than focus on numbers of properties acquired or empty properties brought back into use. The project was set out to tackle some wider objectives around improving community stability and offering a safer place to live and this also needed to be monitored.

The report highlighted the achievements of the project so far and evidenced the way in which the outcomes were being met. The full evaluation was included within the appendix and detailed the evidence for the success of the majority of the outcomes so far. The evaluation also highlighted challenges that P3 had faced with the project, further demonstrating the positivity of the successes which had been achieved even with obstacles to overcome.

It was explained that Officers had been keen to bring an update to Members to enable greater understanding and knowledge of the work being undertaken through the project, and also to seek re-confirmation of the support for the project and continued successes.

Members expressed their support for the project, and thanked Officers for their involvement with it. It was queried whether the project was working as it had been planned to, with examples given of properties purchased by P3 which did not meet the brief. It was confirmed that the properties mentioned were not included in the Gainsborough Housing and Support Project, and had been purchased by P3 under other funding streams. Concerns were also raised regarding properties being acquired with sitting tenants who required greater support than was available through P3, and whether this created additional problems. The need to focus on empty properties was discussed, with Members seeking assurance that the project be re-focussed on these properties, rather than those with sitting tenants.

It was enquired whether there were plans to expand the scope of the project beyond Gainsborough, as the issues with empty properties were a district-wide matter. It was confirmed that expansion of the project into other areas of the district was being looked at, with the key being to understand funding opportunities as well as using the baseline data from Gainsborough to help develop future expansion. It was also requested that additional information be made available to private landlords, as some of the issues discussed regarding tenants with additional support needs were also faced in the private housing sector.

Through the course of debate, it was proposed that two amendments be made to the written recommendations. The first being, that recommendation one should read ‘the progress of the project’ rather than ‘the successes’; the second being that a re-focus on empty properties should be included. Each amendment was duly seconded and voted upon and it was

RESOLVED that

a)    recommendation one be amended to read: “Members note the progress of the project so far”

b)    recommendation three be amended to read: “Members task Officers to explore opportunities for future funding for extension of the project, supporting a renewed focus on bringing long-term empty properties back into use, and provide an update to this committee within 12 months”

With these amendments carried, and Members again reiterating their support for the project and thanks to those involved, the amended recommendations were duly proposed and seconded. On taking the vote it was unanimously

RESOLVED that

a)    the progress of the project so far be noted; and

b)    continued Member support with the project be given to ensure it can have an impact in the longer term; and

c)    Officers be tasked to explore opportunities for future funding for extension of the project, supporting a renewed focus on bringing long-term empty properties back into use, and provide an update to the Prosperous Communities Committee within 12 months.