Issue - meetings

Key decision

1.    That the Corporate Head of Asset Management be authorised to award and enter into a JCT Intermediate Building Contract with Contractor’s Design, 2016 Edition (ICD 2016) to construct 6  properties at Southbrook Cottages, Micheldever for the sum as detailed in Exempt Appendix 2 of report CAB3364(H) with Ascia Construction Ltd.

2.    That an additional increase in the current capital budget and expenditure of £719,000  be vired from the Unallocated New Build budget of £3m be authorised, to bring the approved budget and expenditure up to the amount required of £1,990,513.

3.    That the Corporate Head of Asset Management (CHAM) be authorised to negotiate and agree terms for easements, wayleaves and related agreements with utility suppliers, telecom/media providers and neighbours and relevant associated legal agreements in order to facilitate the development.

4.    That the appropriation of open space be approved following the consultation exercise undertaken in May 2022 in accordance with the requirements of Section 122 (2A) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) and the appropriation of the land for planning purposes in order to create additional parking at Southbrook Cottages for local residents.

5.    That the CHAM be authorised to agree and arrange for a scheme to mitigate nutrients in perpetuity as required in order to discharge the relevant planning condition either on sites owned by the council, and/or the purchase of nutrient credits from a 3^rd party prior to the occupation of the new homes located at the Southbrook Cottages site.

6.    That the virement of £85,000 from the Estate Improvement budget be approved for the construction of the offsite additional car parking at Southbrook Cottages.

The Service Lead - New Homes Delivery highlighted a correction to paragraph 7.6 of the report to note that it was estimated that for a one bedroom flat, energy costs would be on average £170 lower per month.  The Housing Development Project Manager introduced the report which set out the final business case for the new properties.

At the invitation of the Chairperson, Councillor Wallace addressed the committee as summarised briefly below.

He highlighted the importance of minimising the carbon impact of building new homes in terms of the build itself and ongoing energy usage and he supported the proposals for Southbrook Cottages as a step in the right direction.  He requested further clarification of the reasons for the budget increase and also emphasised that the market valuation should be appropriate to the building process and take account of the future savings in energy costs.

The Service Lead responded to the points raised and emphasised that the scheme was a pilot project which would be very closely monitored in terms of future costs.  He also answered questions and comments raised by other members and TACT representatives on the following:

• The use of ground source heat pumps;
• Providing information for tenants about living in a Passivhaus;
• How the new housing would be allocated;
• The use of KPIs to monitor the operation of the pilot scheme;
• The selection process for contractors to ensure their capability to build to Passivhaus standards;
• The need for new affordable homes in the area.

The Committee (including invited TACT representatives and members) moved into exempt session to consider the contents of the exempt appendices in more detail before returning to open session to consider the report’s recommendations.

During debate, members noted the general requirement for affordable homes in the area and supported the pilot project to assess the feasibility of building homes to such a high energy efficiency standard

The Cabinet Committee: Housing agreed to the following for the reasons set out above and outlined in the report.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the Corporate Head of Asset Management be authorised to award and enter into a JCT Intermediate Building Contract with Contractor’s Design, 2016 Edition (ICD 2016) to construct 6  properties at Southbrook Cottages, Micheldever for the sum as detailed in Exempt Appendix 2 of report CAB3364(H) with Ascia Construction Ltd.

2.         That an additional increase in the current capital budget and expenditure of £719,000  be vired from the Unallocated New Build budget of £3m be authorised, to bring the approved budget and expenditure up to the amount required of £1,990,513.

3.         That the Corporate Head of Asset Management (CHAM) be authorised to negotiate and agree terms for easements, wayleaves and related agreements with utility suppliers, telecom/media providers and neighbours and relevant associated legal agreements in order to facilitate the development.

4.         That the appropriation of open space be approved following the consultation exercise undertaken in May 2022 in accordance with the requirements of Section 122 (2A) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) and the appropriation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6