Purpose

In November 2025, the Executive
Cabinet resolved to dispose of thirteen sites that The Council has
ambitious plans to deliver new homes across the borough at scale
and across different tenures to meet local housing
needs.  The proposal set out in this report is to take
a more proactive, interventionist and evidence-led approach that
responds directly to local needs.  This will involve closer collaboration with
Registered Provider (RPs) partners and, through the Council’s own
asset disposal plans, making better use of publicly owned land to
unlock the delivery of new social and affordable homes.

The announcement of a successful
bid to the CHSF programme will provide the Council with the
additional financial resources to work at pace and bring the sites
forward for additional affordable and social housing.

Content

(i)                 
That the Council
agrees to accept grant funding of £0.245m from the Ministry
for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) from the
Council House Building Support Fund.

(ii)              
That the Council
agree to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with MHCLG
which describes
the agreed
working relationship between ‘MHCLG and the Council regarding
the administration and delivery of the CHSF.

(iii)            
That spend of
CHSF monies is delegated to the Strategic Director of Growth in
consultation with the
Deputy Executive Leader (Growth, Housing and Homelessness)
Executive Member (Finance and Resources).

 

Reasons for the decision

The Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced the Council
Housebuilding Support Fund (CHSF) on 3 July 2025.

CHSF provides £9.0m of grant
funding in 2025/26 to support councils to develop viable bids to
the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme.  The CHSF scope allows for the Council’s
to work in partnership with Registered Providers or developers to
deliver the new homes.

During 2025, Executive Cabinet
resolved to dispose of 13 Council owned sites totalling
approximately 11ha which, subject to planning and due diligence,
could be brought forward for residential
development.  These sites have the potential to deliver
approximately 485 new homes.  The particular emphasis on these sites is
prioritising disposals directly to the Council’s placed based
RP partners where this would unlock delivery of new social and
affordable housing.

On 19 December 2025, MHCLG
confirmed that the Council’s submission to the CHSF has been
successful and an indicative allocation of £0.245m for
2025/26.

The CHSF monies will be used to
support a programme of work which will include the following
workstreams:

a)     
An updated Legal Review of
partnership working arrangements and the Council’s ability to
dispose of sites directly to Registered Providers

b)     
Planning Assessment of Council
Owned Sites designated surplus to requirements.

c)     
Appropriate range of site
Investigations.

 

Alternative options considered

The alternative option was to
decline the opportunity to bid into the CHSF
grant.  This was rejected as the announcement of CHSF
opportunity aligned with the Council’s ambitions to dispose
of its own land & assets to support the delivery of new social
and affordable homes in partnership with Registered Provider
partners.