Major Social Housing Policy To Be Discussed At County Hall

A policy to ensure Isle of Wight Council owned land and property assets are, wherever possible, used to prioritise social housing will come before a key committee this week.

The policy, finance and resources committee will on Thursday decide whether to move forward with a draft of the Land and Property Asset Disposal Policy (LPADP) which full council agreed to develop in January.

Set in motion by the Empowering Islanders group’s Cllr Peter Spink, the LPADP seeks to address the Island’s social housing shortage.

A committee report says:

“At full council earlier this year, it was agreed that a LPADP be developed to provide a framework for the disposal of the council’s land and property assets ensuring that the development of social rent housing (including relocatable homes) by or on behalf of the council was assessed prior to any asset being declared surplus for disposal.

“Council sites offer an excellent opportunity for economic recovery and sustainable economic growth for the towns and villages across the Island.

“Bringing forward more market, social and affordable housing is much needed by the young people of the Isle of Wight and future generations, for homes to give a much-needed sense of security which will in turn enable people to then focus on education and training.

“There will be crime and disorder benefits to selling surplus/unoccupied sites for redevelopment because vacant sites are likely to attract vandalism, despite efforts by the council to prevent this.

“Preventing vandalism, such as security visits, are an on-going cost to the council, which are saved if sites are sold or redeveloped.”

The report does however point to several risks associated with a LPADP, relating to market demand, market fluctuations, legal challenge and land banking.

It adds:

“When a property asset is declared surplus to council requirements, there is no certainty that it will be sold, or a good price will be achieved, as both are subject to market conditions at the point of disposal.

“The value of land or property assets can fluctuate based on market conditions -hence a need to be able to enter into contract at the earliest opportunity to secure the asset at the agreed price (the greater the level of governance, the greater the potential for market fluctuations to have an adverse impact).

“(There is a) potential challenge from stakeholders or the public – especially if the disposal process is perceived as unfair – hence the need to be as transparent as possible.

“If land or property assets are being disposed of, the council will need to encourage the purchaser to deliver the scheme for which the asset/land is being disposed of as promptly as possible and not to bank the land.”

The policy, finance and resources committee will meet at County Hall at 5pm on Thursday.

If it opts to press ahead with the LPADP, the policy will go before full council for a final vote.