Agenda item

Cllr Ross Houston

Increasing the supply of private rented housing at affordable levels using the council's wholly owned company

I request that the Housing Committee receives an update on plans by LB Barnet for Hillgreen Homes - the Council's wholly owned company - including whether it will be used for increasing the supply of private rented housing at affordable levels in Barnet.

RESOLVED that the item be noted and Councillor Houston be advised that ARG is the most appropriate Committee to consider this matter.

Cllr Kath McGuirk

Not-for-profit lettings agency

I request that the Housing Committee looks at London Boroughs like the London Borough of Islington, that have established not-for-profit lettings agencies, and considers the benefits and feasibility of the London Borough of Barnet doing the same.

RESOLVED that a report on this matter be submitted to a future meeting of this Committee.

ACTION: CATH SHAW/PAUL SHIPWAY

Cllr Adam Langleben

Best practice in delivering new housing through regeneration

The Council’s Housing Strategy sets out how regeneration schemes in Barnet will deliver over 29,000 new homes in the Borough by 2029. Increasing the supply of housing through regeneration has been controversial in Barnet, with already established communities in some cases feeling excluded from the process through lack of consultation and engagement, and feeling let down when agreed plans that affect them are changed.

The impact of regeneration on community cohesion has also been raised in a Member’s Item to Community Leadership Committee, and regular updates about community consultation on on-going projects are now being reported to the Assets, Regeneration and Growth Committee following a Member’s Item on the issue there.

In advance of the Mayor of London publishing London-wide best practice guidelines for regeneration, I request that the Housing Committee receives a report on:

·         the impact of regeneration schemes in Barnet on the delivery of the Committee’s commissioning plan, including whether regeneration in Barnet is meeting the aims of the Housing Strategy to truly deliver the maximum number of affordable homes possible in order to re-house existing tenants and residents

·         how regeneration has affected Barnet Homes’ leaseholders and secure / non-secure tenants,

·         best practice in other London Boroughs, like the London Borough of Islington and the London Borough of Haringey, including their policy on re-housing existing tenants on a like-for-like basis in regeneration schemes,

·         how the process from start to finish can be improved by learning from mistakes made in the West Hendon estate regeneration.

I therefore request that the Housing Committee considers this Member’s Item and further request a report at a future meeting in order to make any recommendations on these issues to the Assets, Regeneration and Growth Committee to assist in developing a London Borough of Barnet best practice check list for future regeneration projects.

RESOLVED that a report be submitted to a future meeting of the Housing Committee on the matters detailed above, with the exception of the item on West Hendon Estate (Members to be provided with the reports produced by the West Hendon Partnership Board and Barrats, subject to the organisations agreeing that the reports can be published).

ACTION: CATH SHAW/PAUL SHIPWAY