Councillors Ask Questions About Disposal Of Brighton And Hove Assets

Selling off council property is expected to generate £30 million towards projects over the next four years, councillors were told yesterday (Monday 19 May).

The Labour deputy leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, Jacob Taylor, revealed the four-year plan at a special meeting of the council’s Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee at Hove Town Hall.

Councillor Taylor answered questions about the council’s capital assets strategy after a “call in” by councillors including Jackie O’Quinn who called for transparency on the sale of any properties or other assets.

The council has already said that it was looking to sell four properties including the old Homewood College site, in Queensdown School Road, Brighton, after the school closed last November.

The other three were an old school caretaker’s house, in Hangleton Way, Hove, an empty office, in Shenfield Way, Hollingdean, and a vacant cottage, in Stanmer Village.

Councillor O’Quinn said:

“Consultation with a range of stakeholders is critical in cases such as Homewood where it would be appropriate for ward councillors to be consulted as it’s an important site in their ward.

“It must be established that disposal of an asset is in the best interests of the city and that all checks and balances have been truly carried out.”

Councillor Taylor, the cabinet member for finance and city regeneration, said that the council was in a precarious financial position if something were to go wrong.

He said that Brighton and Hove had the fifth or sixth lowest level of reserves out of 62 unitary authorities.

He said:

“We have to be clear about the consequences if we do not get capital receipts: more cuts to our general revenue budget.

“If we are not able to use capital receipts for modernisation and funding the capital programme, there will be more reductions to front-line services that residents rely on.

“Take your pick – whether it’s nurseries, toilets, paddling pools, provision in social care, etc.

"Those are the consequences. We’re very keen as an administration not to do that.”

Councillor Taylor also said that Brighton and Hove was not hitting its new-build housing targets because of limited space.

He said that the result was one of the most severe housing crises in the country, with a need for family homes, properties for first-time buyers and homes for lower rents.

As a result of the problems, people were living in shared housing “way beyond what happened 30 years ago”.

He also said that the shortage of affordable family housing was linked to the falling number of children in Brighton and Hove state schools, resulting in two primaries closing last year.

Councillor Taylor said:

“There are thousands on the waiting list and many thousands of families presenting as homeless.

"The most extreme sign of the housing crisis is street sleepers.

“One of the reasons we have the housing crisis is that we haven’t built enough houses in this city. We never meet our annual targets for house-building. Part of that is the availability of land and the cost of land.”

He said that the council had to prove that social housing schemes were financially viable and would cover their costs or risk facing an overspend warning known as a “section 114 notice”.

Green councillor Ollie Sykes, who was involved with the call-in request, asked about the proposal to put receipts totalling £20 million towards the council’s “transformation fund”.

Councillor Sykes said:

“I wonder if in the process of deciding on proposals whether some form of modelling or assessment is done?

“What are the implications of an increase in the valuation of this asset in the future? Or is it a question of we need £6 million – let’s just flog all that stuff over there.”

He said that 50 families a week were approaching the council for housing support and asked how that affected calculations on viability for using land for social or council housing, rather than “affordable” or market housing.

Councillor Taylor said that the transformation fund was part of the budget and the money needed to be found for it from general spending if the planned sources did not come through.

He said that the housing department was looking at some of the homes – and Homewood was being considered as a potential location for tenants at New England House.

A co-opted member of the committee, Mark Strong, asked if a covenant could be put on residential sales to ensure that they were not used as short-term lets or for a “claw-back” if they were later sold on for an excess profit.

Councillor Taylor said that covenants and claw-backs could be possible.

The committee agreed not to challenge the decision any further.