The report for December CEB seeks approval for the transfer of the freehold interest in Lucy Faithfull House to the Council’s Housing Group of companies and making available the necessary loan finance for the development of the site to proceed.

CEB October 2017; previous decision was to

1.     Approve  the demolition of Lucy Faithfull House.

2.     Authorise officers to investigate the viability of undertaking the development of the site as outlined below with Oxford City Housing Limited (OCHL) as part of its overall development programme.

The Head of Housing Services had submitted a report to seek approval in the first instance for the transfer of the freehold interest in Lucy Faithfull House to the Council’s Housing Group of companies and making available the necessary loan finance for the development of the site to proceed, whilst leaving the possibility to develop the site within the HRA as a secondary option.

Councillor Mike Rowley, Lead Member for Housing, reminded Members  that the principles of the proposals in the report had been previously agreed by the Board.

The Board were pleased to support the recommendations which would result in a welcome increase to the City’s affordable housing opportunities while noting the importance of giving careful thought to allocations to these properties. Smaller units might present opportunities to move tenants from elsewhere in the City, so freeing up larger properties.

The City Executive Board resolved to:

1.     Approve the disposal of the freehold interest in Lucy Faithfull House to the appropriate company within  the Council’s Housing Group  (“OCHL”) and delegate authority to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Monitoring Officer and the Head of Financial Services to approve the terms of the disposal;

2.     Recommend to Council to include a budget of £13m in the General Fund Capital Programme for the provision of a loan to OCHL for the purpose of developing the site for residential accommodation as detailed in the Council’s Consultation Budget Report presented elsewhere on the agenda; and

3.     Recommend that if progress of the preferred option of development within OCHL is deferred for whatever reason then the option of development using the HRA as the delivery vehicle is considered.