A business case proposing the construction of affordable homes on two council-owned sites in Carlton was approved at a Gedling Borough Council Cabinet meeting on March 22.
In March 2021, Cabinet originally approved the re-development of the Burton Road and Station Road sites for the provision of Council owned affordable housing and temporary accommodation.
However since the approval of the original Business Case, there was a delay in progressing the development of the Burton Road and Station Road sites in part due to the Covid pandemic, as well as to the loss of key staff members.
The sites on Burton Road and Station Road are both owned by the council and existing structures have previously been demolished.
The reviewed Business Case set out the rationale and evidence base for the delivery of affordable homes on the two sites.
Station Road: The Council owned the southern part of the site however in 2016, the Council applied for adverse possession of the northern part of the site and the Council is now the registered owner of the whole site.
Burton Road: The Council acquired 23 Burton Road using powers under the Housing Act 1957 for the purposes of Housing. The adjacent shops 25, 27 and 29 Burton Road, were acquired in October 2018. In June
2019, demolition and site clearance was completed.
The revised Business Case concluded that the most viable and deliverable option that mitigates against potential risk to the Council was to undertake a competitive tender exercise to secure a Registered Housing Provider (RHP) to develop the two sites through a disposal.
The tender process would include the requirement that a RHP ensures 100% nomination rights for the Council in perpetuity.
A number of benefits were identified in the business case including:
• Additional affordable housing in the borough
• Additional temporary accommodation will be available at the earliest opportunity to reduce number of households in B&B accommodation
• The temporary accommodation does not impact adversely upon
local communities and supports vulnerable households
• Enhanced appearance of the Carlton Road and Station Road areas
which supports the Council’s wider regeneration of Carlton Square
locality
The revised document further advises that the Council has experienced increased demand for its homelessness service with 733 homeless approaches during 2021/22, an increase of 187 cases since 2020/21. If this trend continues, it could result in 900 approaches for the financial year 2022/23 (as at December 2022 there had been 621 homeless individuals or families presenting to the Council). This is a further increase of 167 homeless approaches over the 2021/22 figure.
Whilst not all approaches require placing in temporary accommodation, the increase in presentations reflects the increased demands on the
service and results in the increased demand for temporary accommodation.
The gross cost of B&B placements in 2018/19 was £95,800, this increased in 2019/20 to £277,900, and again in 2020/21 to £391,800. There was a reduction in 2021/22 to £249,800. The estimated costs for 2022/23 are likely to slightly reduce again to £240,000.
The reduction can be attributed to the increased numbers of temporary
accommodation units available to the Council. However, the Council has not been able to secure all of the additional units included in the Temporary Accommodation Appraisal and this is compounded by the delay in the delivery of the Burton Road and Station Road schemes.
To further support the provision of affordable housing in the borough there are plans to purchase seven Temporary Accommodation properties in the next six months from the open market, all of which is expected to reduce the council’s reliance upon B&B accommodation and thereby reduce expenditure.
The published detailed GBC business case from which the above information has been sourced is available HERE
One resident who didn’t wish to be named said she was relieved something was being done with the sites.
“They are both eyesores,” she said.
“I’d rather have homes put on these abandoned sites than have more of our countryside taken away for housing.”
More temp accommodation homes? …for more druggies, alcoholics and undesirables like the filth that reside in Walton Court flats. Yeah I’ll say it, even if you don’t like it. Why always Carlton, just build decent homes, proper semis and the like. All you smell near Walton Court is …WEED! Heaps of hoodies youths going in and out all times of the day, dirty unkempt youth hoods up, faces half hidden behind a scarf…smoking weed. Yeah let’s give them some more temporary accommodation. Don’t see anywhere in Arnold designated for this type of accommodation..