Issue - meetings

David Smith (Director of Economic Development) and Steve Grimshaw (Strategic Programme Manager) were in attendance for this item.

1.    Mr Dance (Cabinet Member for Economic Development) introduced the report that set out the No Use Empty (NUE) initiative and commended the scheme on its success.

2.    Mr Grimshaw provided Members with an update on the initiative, its future plans and sought the Committee’s support for the continuation of the scheme, including the authority to bid for additional sources of funding which would help contribute to the delivery of good quality housing in the county; and that the authority be delegated to the Director of Economic Development to ensure appropriate governance was applied when entering into legal agreements. Mr Grimshaw addressed the achievements of the NUE initiative and said that 5,911 properties had reverted back into use and that there had been a 40% reduction in empty homes since the launch of the scheme.

3.    The officer responded to comments and questions as follows:

(a)    Mr Grimshaw said that Kent County Council (KCC) took every opportunity to provide funding across the entire county, however the highest concentration of empty properties remained within the East. He assured the Committee that the NUE initiative had a proven track record and had been recognised nationally for its contribution in bringing long term empty properties back into use through other projects and funding opportunities that offered different loan products. This included interventions such as the Affordable Homes Project whereby the Homes and Communities Agency awarded £ 750,100to KCC for the NUE initiative to deliver an affordable homes scheme and Live Margate whereby the NUE was allocated £2m in 2018 from the Live Margate Project to bring long term empty properties back into use.

(b)  With regard to the renovation cost of commercial properties, Mr Grimshaw said that the average cost of renovation projects was between £50k to £60k per unit. He informed Members that the money from the growing places fund offered greater flexibility than the parameters set out within the main residential scheme.

(c)     In response to queries regarding the delegation of authority for spend, Mr Grimshaw said that the current delegation arrangements in place for Economic Development was that Mr Smith (Director of Economic Development) was permitted to approve spend up to £1m, Mr Grimshaw as the officer could approve up to £500k, however in terms of the loans themselves, Mr Grimshaw said that most of the loans were significantly smaller and would be managed within the parameters and regulations imposed by KCC Finance. Mr Grimshaw assured Members that there was a process for assessment and approval, all of which required sign off by the appropriate delegated officer, the Head of Service or Director to ensure full control over spend.

(d)  In terms of the ability to provide funding for empty sites, Mr Grimshaw said that if a building had been demolished and that site was vacant, providing it had the relevant approval to create a commercial or residential property then Kent County  ...  view the full minutes text for item 164