Agenda item

The Cabinet Member(s) will update the Panel on any relevant issues. Panel members may ask questions on the update(s) provided.

The Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones addressed the Panel, a summary is set out below.

He spoke of the significant progress that had been made by the Economic Development team over the past ten years and said that it was a credit to the Council. He added that it had taken part and completed a number of impressive projects.

He thanked the dedicated team of officers for making plans come to fruition and looked forward to the completion of Bath Quays North & South.

Councillor Cherry Beath asked if there had been any increase in empty commercial properties.

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones replied that there had been no change in the number of properties and that B&NES was below the national average. He said that some landlords should do more with regard to the appearance of premises when they are empty.

Councillor Cherry Beath asked if there were any elements within the budget that particularly concerned him.

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones replied that his portfolio did not have a large social content within it that would have an impact on residents.

Councillor Lisa O’Brien asked if Bath Tourism Plus had a robust set of Key Performance Indicators and if any were subject to penalty if not achieved.

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones replied that he was not able to answer that question. He said that a review was ongoing with regard to efficiency.

Councillor Colin Blackburn asked if there was a policy in place that encouraged engagement with local registered business relating to vacant premises.

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones replied that he believed a policy does exist and that there are Business Support Officers available to discuss such issues.

Councillor Colin Blackburn said that he would welcome a further conversation with him on this matter.

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones agreed with that proposal.

The Divisional Director for Community Regeneration added that there may be scope to do more work on this matter and that recently Economic Development has restructured to create two new positions that will enable a greater focus on business engagement and skills development.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones for his update on behalf of the Panel. He then asked the Divisional Director for Development to briefly update the Panel on the Placemaking Plan.

She explained that following the Placemaking Plan Examination in September 2016 that the final report had not been received. She added that modifications had been received from the Inspector and that they would be subject to six weeks consultation that had just commenced. Any comments on the modifications would then be sent to the Inspector. She said that they hoped to receive the final report in early Spring.

The Head of Housing addressed the Panel and highlighted some key points from his circulated update.

Additional HMO Licensing Area Compliance Monitoring

230 HMOs in the additional licensing area were subject to a re-inspection and 33 (14%) of these were found not to comply with one or more of their HMO licence conditions (compared to 87% during initial inspection). Most of the HMOs in breach of their licence are now compliant and actions under the Housing Services Enforcement Policy are being applied to those which remain non-compliant.

Rough Sleeper Count

On a night in November we walked the streets looking for rough sleepers and used intelligence information complied by our Outreach Team to find out the level of rough sleeping. We estimated twenty-five rough sleepers in our district which is an increase of 3 on last year. Manvers Street Hostel has 29 beds and was fully occupied on the night of the count.

Our count has been verified by Homeless Link and is a reliable estimate of the level of rough sleeping in Bath and North East Somerset.

Twenty five is an increase of 3 people since the 2015 count, but only three people identified as rough sleeping the previous year were still on the streets and all of these had been offered assistance.

He added that contact with rough sleepers is maintained on almost a daily basis.

B&NES Affordable Homes Show

50 members of staff and over 100 members of the public visited the Affordable Homes Show held in the Community Space at Keynsham on 26 October 2016.  Visitors spoke with providers of low cost home ownership opportunities, took independent mortgage and legal advice and were able to join the National Help to Buy register. 

On exit, we asked visitors to complete a simple feedback survey and we also sought feedback from the exhibitors. The results of these surveys were incredibly positive and gave us an insight into potential low cost home owners visiting the event:

The enthusiasm and momentum we have created with our provider partners from the event is being used to develop plans for wide scale promotion on eligibility for low cost home ownership and emerging opportunities for purchase, both within the Council and across the wider B&NES community. A second event is planned for later in 2017 and a plan for low cost home ownership promotion will be developed in the early part of 2017.  We will update the Panel in due course on this.

Councillor Lisa O’Brien asked if the Council were informing HMO residents what standards they should expect.

The Head of Housing replied that the Council has worked hard to engage with tenants. He said that there is information available on the website, officers have attended Fresher’s Week for the universities and articles have been put in the local press.

The Chairman asked if he knew how many HMO’s were currently in Radstock, Midsomer Norton & Keynsham.

The Head of Housing replied that he did not have that information to hand.

Councillor Fiona Darey commented that she recalled that one Christmas in London a venue was set aside to provide not only hot food but also some support services.

The Head of Housing replied that Julian House provides this service to members of the public that attend their premises. He said that they can receive a hot meal and have their medical needs assessed. He encouraged people in need to attend there and register with them.

Councillor Colin Blackburn said that with regard to Affordable Housing he would like to see developers encouraged to system build.

The Team Manager for Enabling & Development commented that they were exploring options with Curo on this matter.

Councillor Barry Macrae asked what could be done to eradicate the number of rough sleepers and how do the figures compare nationally.

The Head of Housing replied that B&NES has a relatively high rate of homelessness, around twice the national average and would be in the top 15% nationally. He informed the Panel that Bristol has the second highest concentration of rough sleepers in the UK. He added that B&NES has a Direct Access Hostel (Julian House), despite there not being a statutory requirement for the Council to have one.

Councillor Lisa O’Brien commented on the successful work of Julian House and asked if their resources should be expanded.

The Head of Housing replied that investment would always be welcome for their work. He added that the Department of Communities and Local Government had recently announced a £40m funding opportunity to address homelessness and rough sleeping. He said that Housing Services, working with other local housing agencies and in partnership with neighbouring Local Authorities, supported two bids for funding. One of the bids, for £250,000, led by Swindon in partnership with Wiltshire Council and B&NES, has been successful. He stated that a new scheme is to be set up to help those new to the streets, or at imminent risk of sleeping rough, to get the rapid support they need. The three Local Authorities will meet in early 2017 to commence the new service.

The Chairman asked if any records were kept for people who are ‘sofa surfers’ and asked about people who were homeless in the rural areas of B&NES.

The Head of Housing replied that officers visit known locations across the area and said that Ward Members were helpful in notifying in some instances. He added that the recent count does not include ‘sofa surfers’ however ‘sofa surfers’ are recorded as such when presenting to the Council as homeless. 

The Inclusive Communities Manager commented that the Director of Public Health had recently highlighted a number of issues that he would like to discuss with the Responsible Authorities Group (RAG), one of which was Homelessness.

The Chairman thanked everyone for their contributions to this item.