Decision

1)    that delegated authority be granted to the Director of Regeneration and Place Delivery, in consultation with the Director of Finance and the Cabinet Member for Housing and Finance, to acquire Sites 4 and 5 subject to:

(i)            the developer securing planning consents that are acceptable to the Council for conversion and refurbishment of the two properties;

(ii)          an acceptable level of Homes England grant;

(iii)         satisfactory completion of all relevant due diligence, and

(iv)         completion of an appropriate form of linked Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) Design & Build Contract for the sites (all as outlined in Exempt Appendices 1 and 2, respectively);

2)    that an overall Total Scheme Cost for Site 4 of £2,138,948 and Site 5 of £4,192,434 (with Total Scheme Costs to include land purchase, build contract, internal/on-costs and project contingencies etc.), be approved; and

3)    that authority be delegated to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Director of Finance and the Director of Adults Community Services, to determine the future use of the sites and in doing so, to approve additional capital expenditure up to 15% of the overall scheme cost that provides adaptation or enhancement of the proposed scheme to facilitate the housing of a specific cohort of Adult Social Care Need in either site that will result in additional revenue savings to the Council.

Reasons for the decision

Torbay Council was experiencing a period of heightened demand for Temporary Accommodation (TA) by households that found themselves in urgent need of housing assistance.  Providing TA was expensive for any Council; without a consistent supply of new properties being delivered demand for support increases along with the Council’s cost of providing such emergency assistance.  In 2025, the Council trialled a new approach to both reduce the pressure on our TA stock and to reduce our associated revenue losses.  The Council acquired two blocks of flats in Paignton and Torquay funded by borrowing and Homes England grant, to enable their use as social housing.  All homes were let to households that had until that point, been living in Council provided TA, including some care experienced young people.  This was successful, it reduced pressure on our limited TA stock and provided considerable beneficial outcomes for our vulnerable households.  Significantly, it also reduced the Council’s TA expenditure.  It was the intention of the Council to replicate the success from this trial at future sites.

Alternative options considered

There were a number of alternative options set out in the submitted report, however the recommended option was option 3. 

Option 3 proposed proceeding with the acquisition and development of Site 4 to provide 10 no. 1-bedroom flats. This would increase supply and help reduce TA demand but potentially misses an opportunity to deliver something more bespoke for a specialised cohort.  Option 3 also proposed the acquisition and delivery of Site 5; again, helping to improve the housing supply.  In this instance, it is not anticipated that the Site 5 would be suitable for a supported housing scheme, and so the proposal for site 5 was limited to providing social housing in the first instance to households currently living in TA provided by the Council.

This approach proactively addresses an identified need for homes and aligns with the ambitions within the emerging Torbay Local Plan in respect of increasing the amount of affordable housing delivered in Torbay.  Redevelopment would improve the local environment and reduce the risk of the sites remaining vacant or becoming subject to deterioration or anti-social behaviour.  In addition, the schemes would contribute positively towards the Council’s housing delivery targets and strategic housing priorities by increasing supply.  Whilst the proposals require capital investment and the management of development risks, these were considered proportionate and manageable when balanced against the long-term benefits that the schemes provided.