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Update on Housing Regeneration Proposal for Seabrooke Rise and the Flowers Estate

Meeting: 14/10/2015 - Cabinet (Item 55)

55 Housing Estate Regeneration Update (Decision: 01104415) pdf icon PDF 90 KB

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Minutes:

Councillor Worrall, Cabinet Member for Housing, introduced the report which provided an update on the results of the recent consultation regarding high rises in Grays and the progress that was being made on the Council’s other key housing estates.

 

Councillor Worrall thanked all residents who took part in the consultation and explained that the information gathered had been valuable. She further apologised to residents, as she felt that they had been caught in a political point scoring exercise and emphasised that Councillors should remain balanced and listen to the views of residents.

 

Councillor Worrall reported that she wished to make an amendment to recommendation 1.1 printed in the report in order to delete the words ‘at this stage’ so that the recommendation would read as follows:

 

“Cabinet not to award decant status to three Grays high rises – Butler, Davall and Greenwood House, but instead to note that continued consultation should take place with residents to include detailed design on alternative home provision to ensure residents are given a clear unambiguous set of choices.”

 

Councillor Worrall explained that the amendment was important, as the Council was not planning to award decant status to residents of the Grays high rises but would continue to consult with residents as there were some who wanted to leave and others who wanted to stay.

 

Councillor Worrall explained that recommendation 1.3 was for Cabinet to note that the Council’s new build development on Seabrooke Rise would be allocated in accordance to the Council’s existing Lettings Policy and existing residents of the Seabrooke Rise high rise towers would not benefit from enhanced priority status at the current time, however added that she wanted to do what she could to assist those residents who wanted to leave by creating a local lettings plan.

 

In light of this the Cabinet Member informed all those present that officers would consult with residents regarding the local lettings plan and a report would be referred to the Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee for consideration, subsequent to which it would be referred to Cabinet for approval.

 

Councillor Worrall further reported that the government’s recent announcement to impose a 1% reduction on rents over the next four years had a significant impact on the Council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan and consequently officers were evaluating how this would affect the regeneration programme.

 

The Cabinet Member briefly summarised the investment on the Flowers Estate in South Ockendon and the Garrison Estate in Purfleet and emphasised that it was important to speak with local ward Councillors and engage with local residents on plans going forward.

 

Councillor J. Kent, Leader of the Council, invited the three residents to make their statements in the following order:

 

·         Miss Harries, Lead Petitioner of Petition 467 ‘to save our homes being pulled down: Butler; Davall and Greenwood’ explained that the number of people who signed the petition were not used in the overall percentage calculation, rather it was the number of flats on the petition. Miss Harries reported that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55