HRABP - Draft 8 - Flipbook - Page 10
1 Introduction
In April 2012 the financing of the way Local
Authorities provided council homes was
significantly changed with the introduction
of a ‘Self – Financing’ Regime. This regime
enabled the Council to support investment
in the housing stock from its own income
rather than contribute annually to a national
subsidy scheme in which Waveney was a
net contributor of £4m p.a. in 2011 and a
projection to rise to £7m p.a. 3 years later.
The Council paid £68m to the Government
to exit this regime instead, in common with
all stock owning councils. This required
the development of a sustainable, longterm (30year) business plan, enabling the
Council to plan its approach to investment
in its directly owned housing and setting
out the financial plan that underpinned this,
in order to achieve its housing objectives.
The business plan has since been regularly
updated to take account of the changing
environment in which it is operating.
A number of factors have changed since
the publication of the last formal Housing
Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan in
2016 which make the development and
publication of a new Business Plan timely.
They include:
•
Progress towards the establishment of
the new East Suffolk District Council in
2019
•
Publication of the first East Suffolk
Business Plan (2016) and related
strategies, including an overarching
East Suffolk Housing Strategy (2017).
•
The impact of changes to Government
policy affecting housing financing.
•
Changing economic and demographic
factors leading to changing housing
priorities, particularly the ambition to
develop more affordable homes to rent
to meet increasing housing need.
•
Development
of
a
business
improvement programme across a
range of HRA services to improve value
for money.
10 East Suffolk HRA Business Plan 2018 - 2048
This is the first Housing Revenue Account
Business Plan to be published under the
wider East Suffolk banner. In addition
to continuing to invest in our existing
homes we have ambitious plans for the
redevelopment of properties and provision
of new housing, which will deliver a range
of lasting benefits for the residents of East
Suffolk. The investment identified in this
Business Plan will support the Council in
achieving these ambitions, including the
regeneration of Lowestoft and delivering
homes across the district to meet rising
housing need. The establishment of the
new East Suffolk Council increases the
opportunity for development of affordable
new homes across a wider geographic area,
involving new partners such as Community
Land Trusts and developers involved with
‘land and build’ projects . The current
30-year HRA Business Plan projections
demonstrate that the investment proposals
are fundable, subject to the assumptions
within the plan, and that the HRA remains
sustainable and viable over the thirty year
period.
Links to other East Suffolk Plans
and Strategies
This business plan aligns with other key
East Suffolk plans and strategies, being
one of a number of delivery plans which
support our Housing Strategy and in turn
our Corporate East Suffolk Business Plan.
Others will include the Homelessness
Strategy, the Asset Management Strategy
and an Enabling Strategy.
East Suffolk Business Plan
In our corporate East Suffolk Business Plan
both Waveney and Suffolk Coastal councils
set out a clear vision for East Suffolk to
“Maintain and sustainably improve the
quality of life for everyone growing up
in, living in, working in and visiting East
Suffolk”. The vision specifically seeks
to enable both councils to “…address
some significant local challenges, such
as the need for new homes that are
affordable and local to our communities..."
The corporate Business Plan seeks to
