Agenda item

Joint report

The Cabinet considered a joint report of the Executive Directors, Place and Resources, which set out a number of proposed changes to existing arrangements, to enable new investment in Coventry Homes, for a viable Spirit Quarters development to proceed and for the Council to implement service change proposals.

The Councils approval was sought to refinance Whitefriars debt, which would see £50m invested in refurbishing and improving 7,500 homes in Coventry over five years and £34m invested in providing an extra 340 homes in Coventry.  To enable the refinancing arrangements to be concluded the Council would be required to forego Right to Buy receipts.  In return, Whitefriars would reinvest an equivalent sum, together with their own share of net Right to Buy Receipts, into a shared fund for improvements to roads and footpaths on Whitefriars estates that had transferred back to the Council under case law arising as result of the ‘Guliksen’ ruling.  The Council, in partnership with Whitefriars, would manage this fund.  It was also proposed to release two small sites for new house building to Whitefriars in order for them to build 18 dwellings to rent.

Whitefriars were the lead partner in bringing forward the Spirit Quarters redevelopment in the former NDC area of Wood End, Henley and Manor Farm.  The Council, Moat House Community Trust, the Homes and Community Agency (HCA) and Bovis, Keepmoat and Westbury Homes (BKW) were the other partners and stakeholders.  The current phase of development was selling very well and the build programme had been accelerated to cope with demand.  However, given the scale of the proposed redevelopment, the timescale it would take to deliver the whole scheme and the availability of the additional funding released by refinancing, the viability of the proposals had been reassessed by the partners and revised proposals put forward to conclude work in the area earlier, but on a lesser scale.

The report indicated that the proposed service changes arising from ‘A Bolder Community Services’ recommended that care provided at Jack Ball and George Rowley House be ceased and that day care services for Adults with Learning Difficulties be relocated to Frank Walsh House.  The Council occupied a small annex of each of these ‘Houses’ by way of long lease from Whitefriars.  Whitefriars have agreed to accept a surrender of the leases of the annexes to Jack Ball and George Rowley House and any necessary change of use required for the Frank Walsh House proposals to proceed be undertaken at no cost to the Council, subject to the approval of the Whitefriars Board

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:-

1.  Approve the Council foregoing Right to Buy receipts receivable as part of the original stock transfer agreement, to enable Whitefriars to refinance its debt thus releasing new resources for investment in Coventry homes.

2.  Approve receiving a sum equivalent to ‘Right to Buy’ receipts from Whitefriars, together with Whitefriars own share of net Right to Buy receipts, in order to meet highway repair obligations that have transferred to the Council as a result of the ‘Guliksen’ ruling and that these resources form a shared fund within the annual highway maintenance programme to address neighbourhood priorities, prioritised in conjunction with Whitefriars on the same basis (worst first) as the allocation of existing highway repair resources.

3.  Approve a reduced Spirit Quarters scheme for consultation with local residents and delegate authority to the Spirit Quarters Project Board, in consultation with the Cabinet Members (Business, Enterprise and Employment) and (Housing and Heritage), to agree the level of investment and support in the Manor Farm estate and to approve homes no longer being redeveloped.

4.  Subject to Whitefriars Board approval, approve the surrender of leases at Jack Ball House and George Rowley House and any necessary changes to the lease at Frank Walsh House at no cost to the Council to enable the Council to implement its proposals for service change contained in the Bolder Community Services report elsewhere on your agenda.

5.  Delegate authority to the Executive Director, Resources to complete any necessary changes to existing legal agreements and any new legal agreements necessary to give force to the changes above and to achieve this in a tax efficient manner. 

6.  Subject to recommendation (1) and (2), approve the addition of the works to the Council’s capital programme for the purposes described, delegating authority to the Executive Director, Resources and Executive Director, Place in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Members to determine the exact value of joint Council and Whitefriars investment in 2013/14.