Issue - meetings

To update Cabinet on progress with Spendells House following the decision taken on 26 June 2020 to bring the property back into use as temporary accommodation.

RESOLVED that Cabinet -

a)     notes the update on progress and continues to support, in principle, the Spendells house site being retained and reconfigured for the provision of temporary housing accommodation;

b)     requests that Officers revisit and update the original financial appraisal / business case; and

c)    delegates the decision to proceed or otherwise to the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance and the Portfolio Holder for Housing subject to:-

i)    the updated financial appraisal / business case remaining financially advantageous and value for money to the Council in terms of the overall provision of temporary accommodation; and

ii)  the identification and approval by Full Council of the necessary funding as part the separate HRA budget setting process. 

Cabinet considered a report of the Housing Portfolio Holder (A.4), which updated it on progress with Spendells House following the decision taken on 26 June 2020 and to seek continued support for the site being retained and reconfigured for the provision of temporary housing accommodation, subject to the business case being revisited.

Cabinet recalled that at its meeting held on 26 June 2020 it had taken the decision to bring Spendells House in Walton-on-the-Naze back into use as temporary accommodation. Since that decision had been taken Officers had secured planning consent for the change in use and had completed the removal of all asbestos from within the building using appropriately licensed contractors.

It was reported that a tender exercise had now been undertaken for the remaining conversion works with the lowest and successful tender coming in at £1.25m. This figure was somewhat higher than the original 2020 estimated cost of £0.6m, of which £0.149M had already been spent on the asbestos removal works. Furnishing the scheme was now estimated to cost in the region of £0.06m based on recently obtained prices.  This would bring the total estimated expenditure to set the scheme up ready to use to £1.4m. Given ongoing rises in inflation it was now prudent to consider a total estimated budget of £1.4m.

Those increases in cost had to be set against continued high levels of homelessness presentations and consequent temporary accommodation use and therefore the original principals of the June 2020 decision remained.

In light of the above, it was proposed by the Housing Portfolio Holder that Cabinet continued to support the Spendells house site being retained and reconfigured for the provision of temporary housing accommodation in principle, subject to the original financial appraisal / business case and funding proposals being revisited for approval by the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance and the Portfolio Holder for Housing.

In order to progress the provision of council owned and managed temporary housing accommodation:-

It was moved by Councillor P B Honeywood, seconded by Councillor G V Guglielmi and:-

RESOLVED that Cabinet -

a)     notes the update on progress and continues to support, in principle, the Spendells house site being retained and reconfigured for the provision of temporary housing accommodation;

b)     requests that Officers revisit and update the original financial appraisal / business case; and

c)    delegates the decision to proceed or otherwise to the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance and the Portfolio Holder for Housing subject to:-

i)    the updated financial appraisal / business case remaining financially advantageous and value for money to the Council in terms of the overall provision of temporary accommodation; and

ii)  the identification and approval by Full Council of the necessary funding as part the separate HRA budget setting process.