Content

The
Committee resolved:-
(i)            
to note that the Chief Officer – Corporate
Landlord, would issue a Service Update to members with details on
offers accepted from homeowners;
(ii)           
to thank the Torry RAAC Campaign Group Management
Committee (TRCG) and UK RAAC Campaign Group for their positive
engagement in the process of identifying alternative options for
owners and for granting permission to share the note of engagement
via Appendix A with the Committee;
(iii)         
to note the contents of the Viability Assessment
contained in Appendix B and that the purpose of the review was to
determine if there are additional options which would meet the
Council’s overall objectives;
(iv)         
to note that Options 2, 3 and 4 in the Report are
all identified by officers as being viable and worth investigating
further with all owners;
(v)          
to note that TRCG have expressed a view that any
option which involves owners contributing to costs or sharing
equity in their property will not be acceptable to them;
(vi)         
to note that if Option 3 is pursued there will
require to be a commitment from all owners within any identified
terraces of properties and that there will be a requirement to
vacate properties timeously as part of the overall agreement in
order to mitigate the health and safety risks; 
(vii)        
to note the previous decisions that Voluntary
Acquisition will be at Market Value (with additional supporting
payments as previously agreed) and agree that all options should be
equitable in so far as no single option will be more financially
beneficial than any other to owners;  
(viii)      
to instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord
to write to all homeowners to advise them of the alternative
options presented, in keeping with the officer modelling within
Appendix B, and ask homeowners, having considered the information,
to formally identify by the end of June 2025 which option they
would be willing to consider; and:
 
In relation
to the roof on roof off proposal (Option 3):
 

a)     
to instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate
Landlord,  in consultation with the
Chief Officers of Finance, Housing and Capital, to thereafter
review terraces on the site which would best lend themselves to
meeting demand for the roof on roof off option as indicated by
owners;

b)     
to instruct the Chief Officer – Corporate
Landlord to progress negotiations with owners to deliver the option
as identified in the Viability Assessment and enter into legal
agreements as required if there is sufficient interest to undertake
this option in relation to at least one full terrace where all
owners are in agreement;

c)     
to approve the necessary spend, using the funding
solution identified for voluntary acquisition, to undertake works
as identified in the Viability Assessment including procuring
works, supplies and services as required in accordance with the
Council’s Procurement Regulations;

d)     
to instruct the Chief Officer – Finance to
explore the options in relation to loan, standard securities and
shared equity mechanisms to support owners to meet a share of costs
as outlined in the Viability Assessment in connection with their
properties;

e)     
to instruct the Chief Officer – Corporate
Landlord to instruct the disposal of properties to owners as
identified in the Viability Assessment, where this is considered
appropriate;
 
         
In relation to the excambion (house swap) option (Option
4):
 

f)     
to instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord
and Chief Officer - Housing to identify Council houses that may be
appropriate for excambion, prepare property information on these
and circulate details to interested owners;

g)   
to instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord
and Chief Officer - Governance to arrange any necessary works to
properties under existing delegated powers and conclude
transactions in relation to this Option in accordance with the
terms contained within the Viability Assessment;

h)   
to approve the use of the existing funding solution
for voluntary acquisition to fund these works, including making
payment to the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for the loss of
housing stock (all at Market Value);

i)     
to instruct the Chief Officer – Housing to
keep the Scottish Housing Regulator advised of progress with this
work;

 

(ix)         
to instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord
to progress negotiations with owners, in consultation with the
Chief Officer – Finance, and report back on progress to the
Communities, Housing and Public Protection Committee in August 2025
within the already scheduled report;

(x)          
to note that the first proposal within the UK RAAC
Campaign Group Option is assessed as unviable, but that the
remaining proposals have been built into the roof off/roof on
proposal  from the TRCG;

(xi)         
to note that works to masterplan the site have been
‘stepped down’ until July 2025 to ensure clarity over
the options being taken forward in this report, as have works to
progress site landscaping and demolition to avoid abortive
costs; 

(xii)        
to instruct the Chief Officers of Finance, Housing
and Corporate Landlord to continue to pursue all available funding
options to meet the needs of the Council and owners; and

(xiii)      
to instruct the Chief Officers of Finance, Housing
and Corporate Landlord to discuss the content of this report
formally with External Audit to confirm that they have no
objections to the Value for Money of the recommendations within
this report.