Transcript Document

EMHG – Background
• Formed 65 years ago
• Includes - 5 Associations, 17,000 homes across 35 LA districts
in the East Midlands
- Enable Care &Support 350 customers/£20m turnover
- 2 DLO’s + landscape contractor
- MRHA – rural specialisation
- Lead investment partner for Quantum Consortium
- Help-to-Buy agent for East Midlands region
- MRS delivery across 3 counties
- Provides 200-300 new homes per year
- Apprenticeship academy
• Amalgamation of associations/ fundraising underway
EMHG - Development
• Annual capital spend c. £30m
• Internal capital subsidy support for new homes £4m/year
• Positive reputation with HCA for delivery and strong
partnering ethos
• Experience of all affordable homes but few commercial
projects
Main St, Fleckney
Manor Farm.
Westleigh Developments (WDL)
• Private Developer based in Whetstone, Blaby
• Operates throughout East Midlands, South Yorkshire,
West Midlands and Cambridgeshire; 30 + Local
Authorities
• Build homes for sale, commercial property for sale
and affordable homes for Registered Providers and
Local Authorities
• Seen as an affordable housing specialist; build 500
plus affordable homes a year
Westleigh Developments (WDL)
• Work with 16 RP’s, 7 main partners
• Development scale from 10 unit affordable schemes
up to 250 unit mixed tenure sites
• HCA registered partner; have delivered grant
programmes in 2008/11 and 2011/15
• All our homes built in OMS panelised construction
form (Timberframe)
• Understand affordable housing, strategic context,
funding, standards and RP issues
Partnership WDL and EMHA
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Worked together over 20 years
Delivered circa 1,000 affordable homes
Successful delivery record
Innovative and adaptable
Partnership founded on optimisation of respective
skills and expertise
• Pragmatic and flexible approach to delivery
Partnership WDL and EMHA
• Adopt the key principles of partnering as envisaged
by Rethinking Construction Report
• Partnering Team responsible for scheme delivery
• Places the client at the heart of the scheme and
processes
• Open book approach to costing
• Risk and reward assessed and agreed as joint
partners
EMHG / WDL
Partnership with optimum skills
Westleigh
- Site identification and
purchase
- Construction; labour
and materials supply,
construction
management
- Planning specialists
- Timber Frame System
Together
East Midlands
Development expertise
- Asset mgmt
- HCA investment partners - Tenancy mgmt
- IMS
- Long-term funding
- Training/apprenticeships
- Mixed tenure housing
solutions
Challenges Ahead
• Land Access
– Increasing interest in site purchases from main
housebuilders
– Increased prices and difficulty competing
• Reducing Government Investment
– Grant available (AHG funding £15k per unit)
means increased borrowing for EMH/fewer
houses (26th June Spending Review?)
– Impact on lending covenants constraint RP
capacity
Challenges (cont.)
• Welfare Benefit changes
– Universal Credit/ benefit cap/ under-occupanncy
Rising rent losses threaten subsidy and limit
development ( 30% - 1500 have £14/week)
– Drive short-term demand for 1-bed homes
• Political Backdrop
– National Housing Strategy is really just about numbers
– Not based on needs nor regional priorities – no
regional agenda!
– Economic impacts /employment/training is priority
and inadequate recognition of housing’s contribution
Challenges (cont.)
• East Midlands Region
– Affordable rents @ 80/market rent do not
increase borrowing significantly
– London/SE model which requires a higher
proportion of grant investment in this region
• Regulatory Consultation
– Retrenchment following Cosmopolitan HA (ring
fencing of social housing assets)
– Commercial/cross subsidy authority limited to
under 5% of turnover
Current example – Winchester Rd
• Site acquired by WDL for mixed tenure development, spec
lead
• Site has a planning permission for 76 homes
• WDL have contracted with EMHA to deliver 33 affordable
homes, mix affordable rent and shared ownership
• Approached by EMHA to consider varying scheme proposal
to provide a 50 unit extra care scheme on part of the spec
homes land
• Proposal worked up between WDL and EMHA to support
funding bids submitted to HCA. Awaiting outcome
• Blaby DC and Leicestershire CC funding support in place
Current example – Winchester Rd
• Second approach by EMHA and BDC to vary proposal
to provide 10 bungalows for the elderly
• Third option / scheme prepared and ready to go
• Trigger - funding for the extra care scheme will
determine the revised scheme to progress through
planning
• Key issue has been flexibility between the partners
and consideration of the partners respective of
objectives and targets
Current example – Winchester Rd
Outcomes
• Housing scheme which will meet a range of priority housing
needs
• Could be a scheme with all affordable tenures; likely to be a
mixed tenure scheme including much reduced spec housing
input from WDL
• Either way a scheme which maintains a commercial return
for WDL and delivers a viable affordable proposal which
meets our partnerships broader objectives
• A flagship scheme for our partnership
• Demonstration of the effectiveness of the WDL and EMHA
partnership
Going Forward: Partnership
• Local Authorities
– Grounded data on housing needs to steer scheme
design
– Clear housing strategy
– Strong political backing for the strategy and its
corporate priority; resolve inter-departmental
wrangling!
– Effective political links/strategic infrastructure
across the region with other
councils/LIPs/agencies
Going Forward: Partnership
• Positive solution finding and commitment to
principles of partnership
• Financial support/NHB/Land Commuted sums
• Positive planning
• Pre-app guidance
Partnership
Westleigh
EMHA
L.A.
County Council /CCG?