Agenda item

Purpose of Report

To provide the Executive with an update on the delivery of the extra care sheltered housing scheme at De Wint Court, including an update on the legal agreements with the County Council.

The report also sought approval of a Local Lettings Policy for the scheme.

Decision

That the Executive:

(1)       Notes the update on the delivery of the scheme at De Wint Court.

(2)       Approves the Local Lettings Policy for the De Wint Court extra care housing scheme, as set out at Appendix 1 attached to the report.

(3)       Delegates authority to the Strategic Director of Housing and Investment, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Quality Housing, to agree any minor changes to the Local Lettings Policy.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Other options considered were set out in paragraph 10.1(i) of the report.

Reason for Decision

It was noted that the new-build extra care sheltered housing scheme at De Wint Court was to provide 70 one and two bedroom flats to enable older people to live independently in a modern setting with on-site care and support. The scheme was due to commence on-site in November 2019 and to complete by the end of September 2021. In order to secure nominations to 50% of lettings, Lincolnshire County Council would provide the City of Lincoln Council with a capital funding contribution.

De Wint Court had full planning permission and the scheme’s build had been procured using a two-stage selection questionnaire and invitation to tender process. Following the assessment of fourteen returned selection questionnaires, five suppliers were invited to tender for the build of the scheme. The successful supplier would be appointed in September 2019.

The report provided the legislative background to allocations to council housing, as well as details relating specifically to the City of Lincoln’s Allocations Policy. With regard to the proposed De Wint Local Lettings Policy, this required that applicants would need to be accepted onto the Lincs Homefinder housing register and added two further criteria. The first criteria was the need for qualifying persons to have a local connection, in that applicants must have:

·         been continuously resident in the city of Lincoln for twelve months, or;

·         a close relative living in the city of Lincoln who had done so for the last five years or more, or;

·         been employed in the city of Lincoln on a permanent or long-term contract for 16 hours or more per week.

It was noted that the local connection qualification may, however, be waived on an exceptional basis.

The second criteria required applications to be aged 55 years or over, with any associated partner being aged 50 or over.

The proposed Local Lettings Policy also considered property size eligibility, allowing single persons and couples to be considered for two bedroom accommodation based on their housing and support needs. It also stated how Lincolnshire County Council would nominate to 50% of the allocations and how applications would be assessed in terms of housing and support needs. These aimed to ensure that there was a balance of care needs in the scheme.