CAMBRIDGESHIRE RURAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING SERVICE

MINUTES OF PARTNERS GROUP

Date: Thursday 19 October 2017Timing: 10.00 am start

Venue: South Cambridgeshire DC offices, Cambourne

Present:Kirsten Bennett (chair) Cambridgeshire ACREMark Deas (secretariat) Cambridgeshire ACREUzma Ali South Cambridgeshire District CouncilDavid Ousby South Cambridgeshire District CouncilCllr Robert Turner South Cambridgeshire District CouncilFrank Mastrandea Huntingdonshire District CouncilOlivia Manton Peterborough City Council/ Fenland District Council/ East

Cambridgeshire District CouncilJessica Wicks Peterborough City Council/ Fenland District Council/ East

Cambridgeshire District CouncilUlrike Maccariello HastoeLeslie Clarke bphaHelen Fortune Accent NeneJenny Nuttycombe (up to item 3) South Cambridgeshire District Council (Planning)

Apologies:Christine Steele bphaMike Sugden CHSJuliet Drewett bpha (Help to Buy)Azhar Ahmed Cross Keys HomesSonya Fitt Luminus

1) Welcome and introduction

Introductions were made and apologies noted as above.

2) Minutes of last meeting held 20 July 2017 and matters arising

The minutes were agreed as a true record with one exception. The actions from the last meeting had been progressed as follows: Action: ALL to submit comments on policy through (Huntingdonshire) Local Plan

consultation – completed. Action: RHE to keep partners informed of any progress with LCHO Register issues – in

progress and discussed later in meeting

Cambridgeshire ACRE is registered in England as a charity (no.1074032) and a company limited by guarantee (no.3690881)

Registered office: 72 Market Street, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 1LS

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Action: RHE to send partners details of Strutt & Parker report when available– completed

Action: UA to approach planning team at SCDC – completed (Jenny Nuttycombe presenting on neighbourhood plans at this meeting

Action: RHE to circulate advert for new trustees – completed

3) Neighbourhood Planning

Jenny Nuttycombe gave a short presentation on neighbourhood planning in South Cambridgeshire. Key points included:

A NDP is a land use plan with statutory weight It must meet a series of basic conditions including conformity with national and local

strategic policies There are currently 13 designated areas in South Cambridgeshire NDPs can cover a broad or more limited range of policies Great Abington is the most advanced NDP in South Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire DC is currently consulting on a range of NDP guidance it has

prepared for local groups

Mark Deas summarised the NDP groups where Cambridgeshire ACRE is providing support. Cambridgeshire ACRE is trying to link its NDP support with the work of the partnership. A number of Housing Needs Surveys have been undertaken in support of NDPs.

Leslie Clarke reported that bpha had had positive experiences with NDPs in Bedfordshire.

Most NDP groups are supportive of the principle of affordable housing for local people. It will not normally be appropriate to allocate rural exception sites or include specific policies. However, including supporting text which encourages the use of the Local Plan rural exception policy could be helpful.

The RHE will report on which NDPs are being supported in future quarterly progress reports.

4) Rural Housing Enabler progress report

Key points from the report and discussion included:

A number of Parish Councils have been attended. HNS results have been reported to Eltisley and Great Shelford & Stapleford Parish Councils

Doddington, Fen Drayton and Meldreth HNS are at various stages of completion. The next surveys are likely to be a couple of privately funded commissions

The RHE has declined to undertake a partner sponsored HNS in Waterbeach as there was no commitment from the NDP group to pursue a rural exception site. They are

Cambridgeshire ACRE is registered in England as a charity (no.1074032) and a company limited by guarantee (no.3690881)

Registered office: 72 Market Street, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 1LS

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more interested in developing solutions in the proposed new town but any resulting scheme could not be linked to the sponsor

No schemes have achieved a start on site in 2017/18. However, the pipeline is strong and a number of schemes are still expected to start this financial year. Table 3 in the RHE report was reviewed and the following schemes were identified as being most likely to achieve a start on site in 2017/18:

o Burwell (Hastoe) – 11 plus 3 marketo Needingworth (Luminus) – 10 plus 4 marketo The Offords (Cross Keys Homes) – 13 plus 7 marketo Ramsey St Mary’s (Luminus) – 8 plus 3 marketo Fulbourn (Accent) – 15 o Bourn (CHS) – 4o Hardwick (Clarion) – 43 (as part of larger s106 scheme)o West Wratting (Hastoe) – 3 plus 1 marketo Willingham (Cross Keys Homes) – 22

There is also a healthy pipeline of longer term schemes The RHE has attended a number of meetings with partners and spoken at a couple of

conferences. New Housing Association partners are being actively sought Feedback from the Rural Housing Network was reported:

o Problems with the LCHO register have been reported but there is no progress to date

o The HCA has a potential underspend and partners are encouraged to consider potential projects

o The HCA has reported an increasing number of requests to waive staircasing restrictions on schemes in Designated Protected Areas. This is believed to be due to difficulties in accessing mortgages due to the associated restrictions

o The National CLT Network have undertaken some research into mortgage providers for ‘specialist’ schemes but availability may be restricted to members

Action: DO to forward paper on LCHO HR issue to RHEAction: LC to approach Help To Buy team to see if they have any further suggestions for addressing LCHO HR problemsAction: RHE to continue pressing HCA on LCHO HR issue Action: ALL to encourage non-member Housing Associations to consider joining the partnership

5) Review of Housing Needs Survey materials

The survey materials are reviewed every year or so. The RHE made a number of suggestions based on experiences of recent surveys and the following issues were agreed:

The boxes on Q1 and Q2 need to be more closely aligned to text

Cambridgeshire ACRE is registered in England as a charity (no.1074032) and a company limited by guarantee (no.3690881)

Registered office: 72 Market Street, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 1LS

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Q3-5 should be placed after Q6a/b so it is clearer that the information is required for the new household

It may be necessary to update the options in Q8b to reflect current government policy

The bands in Q10 should be reviewed. In particular, the highest band in Q10a should be increased to ‘£80,000 and over’ to reflect shared ownership eligibility. More generally, bands should be reviewed against housing costs information on Cambridgeshire Insight

It may be necessary to use different bands for each Local Authority It would be helpful to have an item of Home-Link website informing people where we

are undertaking Housing Needs Surveys and encouraging them to ensure they have identified their local connections

It may be appropriate to run a small pilot with some ‘non housing’ people A link to a glossary should be included in questionnaire or supporting letter to help

people understand technical terms The questionnaire should be reviewed by an equal opportunities specialist to make

sure appropriate terminology being used

Action: RHE to coordinate changes and circulate revised version

6) 2017/18 service financial statement

The finances remain sound for 2017/18. However, longer term there is a need to increase membership or undertake more ‘private’ work.

7) AOB and future meetings

David Ousby reported that a new potential rural exception site in Meldreth had come forward. This was fortuitous as the original site was viewed unfavourably by planners.

Ulrike Maccariello reported that BBC Countryfile were seeking examples of a village suffering from a loss in facilities due to falling population.

Action: All to contact UM if any suggestions

The last meeting date in 2017/18 cycle is: Thursday 18 January 2018

Proposed dates for 2018/19 will be circulated after the January meeting. Delivery Plan proposals for 2018/19 will need to be considered at the next meeting.

List of on-going actions

Cambridgeshire ACRE is registered in England as a charity (no.1074032) and a company limited by guarantee (no.3690881)

Registered office: 72 Market Street, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 1LS

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ALL – inform Rural Housing Enabler of any opportunities to work with Poor’s charities in the county

ALL – send any photos that can be used for rural affordable housing articles to Rural Housing Enabler

ALL - to inform RHE of any promotional materials that could be used at appropriate events

ALL – notify Rural Housing Enabler of any potential guest speakers for future meetings ALL - provide suggestions for new Housing Needs Surveys ALL – send any suggestions/ materials for case studies to RHE ALL – send information on Community Right to Build proposals to RHE

Mark Deas19 October 2017

Cambridgeshire ACRE is registered in England as a charity (no.1074032) and a company limited by guarantee (no.3690881)

Registered office: 72 Market Street, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 1LS

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