Agenda and minutes

To approve as correct the minutes of the meeting held on 28^th January 2019.

(Note: If any Member wishes to propose an amendment to the minutes they should submit this in writing to committeeservices@horsham.gov.uk at least 24 hours before the meeting.  Where applicable, the audio recording of the meeting will be checked to ensure the accuracy of the proposed amendment.)

The minutes of the meeting held on 28^th January 2019 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members of the Committee

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman of the Committee or the Chief Executive

The Chairman welcomed the new Scrutiny and Committee Support Officer.

To consider the Cabinet report regarding the proposal to sell surplus council land in the context of the Affordable Housing Investment proposals

Link to cabinet agenda 21^st March 2019.  Cabinet_agenda

The Head of Property and Facilities gave a PowerPoint presentation explaining the criteria used to evaluate possible sites for affordable housing.  The key point from the presentation was that any transfer of land at less than market value to an affordable housing company would be financial assistance, which would require the approval of Council and the Secretary of State.  It was explained why land used to build affordable housing was worth less than the same land used to build market housing. 

Low value land tended to be used for affordable housing and Members agreed with this approach.

It was noted that sites would have to be considered on their merits and that Cabinet is the ultimate decision maker as it approves business cases for the housing company. 

There was a discussion around whether the Leader of the Council should be on the board of the housing company.  It was noted that legal advice had been sought on this issue and the recommendation was that neither members nor statutory officers should serve as directors to prevent a potential conflict of interest between the council and the company.

RESOLVED

That, under Section 100A(2) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the remainder of this item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information, as detailed in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, by virtue of paragraph 3, and in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Head of Property and Facilities went through the merits and issues surrounding each of the potential sites.  The Committee agreed that the sites in question should not be offered to the affordable housing company.

RESOLVED

That Cabinet be advised that this Committee is of the view that none of the sites identified needed to be offered to the affordable housing company.  

Items not on the agenda which the Chairman of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered as urgent because of the special circumstances

It was agreed that as the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 25^th March is the last one this season, the previous Overview and Scrutiny Committee Support Officer would be invited at the start of the meeting so that Members could express their thanks for her work.