(Chief Executive – Paul Crawford to attend this meeting)
Minutes:
*O&S(E) 47
The Chairman introduced Mr Paul Crawford (Devon and Cornwall Housing (DCH) Chief Executive) to the meeting and invited him to undertake a brief presentation that covered the following headline areas:-
- An External Environmental Update and how DCH was responding;
- Issues to consider in delivering affordable housing in West Devon; and
- Any Subsequent Member Question(s).
In the ensuing discussion, reference was made to:-
(a) the proposal to relocate back office members of DCH staff. The Committee was advised that the intention of DCH was to take the service to their customers as opposed to them having to visit their offices. Members welcomed the proposal for some DCH staff to be relocated to Kilworthy Park and felt that this would create the opportunity for greater synergy and partnership working between the Council’s officers and their DCH counterparts;
(b) accommodation for elderly residents. A Member highlighted that his local Neighbourhood Plan had identified a shortage of housing provision for the elderly population and questioned what encouragement there was for developers to build suitable accommodation for elderly residents. In reply, the DCH Chief Executive highlighted the challenges and sensitivities relating to this matter, but stated that downsizing had to be encouraged to reverse this trend. In taking the point a step further, there was also an identified need to ensure that the right quality of housing was available to enable residents to downsize and the Council (as the Local Planning Authority) was therefore encouraged to hold active dialogue with developers in an attempt to address this matter;
(c) the approach to empty properties. The Chief Executive informed that, on average, DCH had 1,500 empty vacancies in any one year. In addition, it was noted that the average turnaround time for empty properties to be re-filled was just over 20 days and approximately £2,200 was spent by DCH on each vacancy. For financial reasons, the organisation was committed to a quick turnaround of empty properties and it annually budgeted 0.5% of its total budget into a ‘rent loss budget’ (which equated to just over £500,000) in order to reflect the impact;
(d) any damage and repair to DCH properties. The Committee was advised that DCH did pursue tenants for any losses incurred through damage and property repairs. However, it was acknowledged that collection rates were fairly poor and it was a judgement call in each instance to assess whether it was economical to pursue these tenants. Nonetheless, the organisation had an annual contingency write-off budget of £450,000 for such purposes. When questioned, the Chief Executive also confirmed that any such tenants would not be re-housed by DCH;
(e) contact with DCH. Some Members shared their poor recent experiences of trying to make telephone contact with DCH. In reply, the Chief Executive was disappointed at these experiences and highlighted that the organisation had invested heavily in its Customer Contact Centre. It was therefore agreed that the matter would be taken up outside of this Committee meeting by the Members and the Chief Executive;
(f) use of contractors. Having experienced some issues with contractors, it was confirmed that DCH’s repairs service was now undertaken almost entirely by in-house employees;
(g) the calculation of rental figures. Some Members sought clarity in respect of how DCH calculated its rental figures and cited a particular example whereby North Tawton residents were paying rental figures based upon the formula applied to Exeter residents. In reply, the Chief Executive informed that figures should be based upon the locality (and not Exeter as in this cited example) and he requested a conversation with relevant Members to look into this issue further. As an assurance, the Chief Executive also stated that it was not in the best interests of DCH to set rents too high as this led to properties either remaining vacant or incurring a high turnover of tenants;
(h) the impact of planning policies. In urging the need for pragmatism, the Chief Executive stated that there was a direct correlation between how restrictive adopted planning policies were and the pace of housing delivery. In respect of viability, it was felt that 30% affordable housing per development was a realistic and attainable target to ensure delivery;
(i) Devon Home Choice. To ensure that residents were in pole position to obtain a property in their preferred area(s) of choice, the Chief Executive encouraged Members to promote amongst their constituents the benefits of registering with Devon Home Choice.
In concluding the agenda item, the Chairman thanked Mr Crawford for his attendance, presentation and very informative responses to Member questions.