Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Claire Cummings (Bury), Gavin White (Manchester), Linda Robinson (Rochdale) and David Mellor (Stockport).

An apology was also received from Carl Moore (Homes England).

To note the appointment of Mayor Paul Dennett, as the GM Portfolio Holder for Housing, Homelessness and Infrastructure as Chair of the Commission.

RESOLVED/-

That the appointment of Mayor Paul Dennett, as the Greater Manchester Portfolio Leader for Housing, Homelessness and Infrastructure as Chair of the Commission be noted.

To appoint a Vice Chair of the Commission for the Municipal Year 2021/22

RESOLVED/-

That Matthew Harrison from Great Places Housing Association be appointed as Vice-Chair for the 2021/22 Municipal Year.

MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION

To note the membership of the Planning and Housing Commission for 2021/2022

District                                    Member

Bolton                                     Councillor Toby Hewitt

Bury                                        Councillor Clare Cummins

Manchester                            Councillor Gavin White

Oldham                                   Councillor Hannah Roberts

Rochdale                                Councillor Linda Robinson

Salford                                    Councillor Mike McCusker  

Stockport                               Councillor David Mellor

Tameside                                Councillor Gerald Cooney

Trafford                                  Councillor James Wright

Wigan                                     Councillor  Susan Gambles

RESOLVED/-

That the Membership of the Commission 2021/22 be noted.

To note the Terms of Reference

Members considered the Commission’s Terms of Reference. Given the discussion at the meeting about private sector representation, the Chief Executive Lead agreed to undertake a review for consideration at the next meeting.

RESOLVED/-

1.    That the Terms of Reference be noted.

2.    That the Lead Chief Executive undertake a review of the Terms of Reference for consideration at the next meeting.

There were no Chair’s announcements or items of urgent business.

To receive declarations of interest in any item for discussion at the meeting. A blank form for declaring interests has been circulated with the agenda; please ensure that this is returned to the Governance & Scrutiny Officer 48 hours before the meeting.

Councillor James Wright declared a personal interest in Item 13 – Greater Manchester Housing Strategy Implementation Plan given his employment with a registered housing provider.

To consider the Minutes of the meeting held on 23 March 2021

RESOLVED/-

That the minutes of the meeting held on 23 March 2021 be approved.

Presentation of Pete Bojar, Executive Director Growth and Assets, Great Places Housing Group

Members received a presentation from Great Places Housing Group about the Off-Site Homes Alliance (OSHA), which covered objectives, roadmap, progress, and next steps.

The main points referred:

·         The themes of quality and costs were raised. Members were reassured that these were the objectives of the OSHA along with cutting fuel costs and carbon. Pilot projects and funding were also highlighted as issues to be resolved.

·         Members were concerned about the cost of modular housing because it was not in-line with what residents were earning and what was affordable. Whilst modular homes were not cheaper, they were value for money and further work would take place to bridge the performance gap. The equalities challenge was also noted as important.

·         Finance/funding, added value and the profit for purpose model were discussed.

·         Further thought would be given to training, employment, and jobs this year. Discussions would take place with the supply chain.

·         Land values and extractive models to drive costs down to deliver truly affordable housing were discussed.

·         A Member commented that affordable net zero housing would help solve the housing crisis and help residents in poverty. Developing zero carbon homes through traditional building methods was not possible. Factory built homes were the only option for zero carbon.

·         A Member enquired about the benefits of offsite housing production and if it would be cheaper and zero carbon. Transition, training, and employment should also be considered. In terms of training the work force, colleges were aware of future requirements and courses were being put in place. The differences between traditional and factory-built homes, was about the factory conditions. Whilst materials remained the same, some installation could take place inside and the use of other wall materials could be used, which gave a better thermal dynamic. It was about quality control and ensuring the performance gap particularly around insulation and heat loss was bridged.

RESOLVED/-

That the presentation be noted, and the OSHA be invited back to the Commission at a future date to report on progress.

Presentation of Andy Hollingsworth, Head of Devolution, GMCA

A presentation that provided a summary of key planning, housing and infrastructure announcements resulting from the Autumn budget and spending review 2021 was considered. A headline summary of the economic picture and implications for local Government and relevant highlights by Government departments were provided.

A Member commented about the unrealistic deadlines and resources needed to submit governing funding bids. Officers acknowledged the issue, and reassured Members that it was raised at every suitable opportunity.

RESOLVED/-

That the presentation be received and noted.

Report of City Mayor Paul Dennett, Portfolio Lead for Housing, Homelessness and infrastructure and Steve Rumbelow, Portfolio Lead Chief Executive for Housing, Homelessness and Infrastructure

Members considered for comment a draft report that would be presented to the GMCA on the proposed approach to the delivery of net zero carbon social rented homes, and to provide an initial interim report on the development of a robust delivery plan.

The main comments were:

·         The Commission would be involved with the production of a more detailed action plan.

·         Further thought should be given to resurrecting the Greater Manchester Land Commission and the role of the Greater Manchester Planning and Housing Commission. The Chair agreed to consider this outside of the meeting and to report back with solutions.

·         In terms of the action plan, how would the modular net zero innovation section tie in with comments made during the OSHA discussion recognising the challenges and opportunities presented. From a land and supply chain perspective, was there a necessity to help find sites; there were challenges and a lack of appetite in some areas.

·         Consideration should be given to sites/land uses and how they could be embedded in other developments. An integrated approach with planning was needed. Mixed housing communities should be part of the broader approach across the city-region.

·         The Chair asked for Officer comments in terms of finding sites, factory locations and identification of sites for social homes across the city-region. Officers were considering the issues. Thought would also be given to the added value as a Greater Manchester project. The challenges around land were not new and would continue to feed into the task of finding sites and land supply.

·         The Greater Manchester Land Commission was highlighted as important and would be an additional tool. Places for Everyone was the key. Government needed to know that delivery was achievable.

·         It was suggested that the piece of land close to White City retail park could be a test case.

RESOLVED/-

1.    That the report to be noted and endorsed as the way forward.

2.    That the Chair consider the Greater Manchester Land Commission and report back at a future meeting.

Report of Steve Fyfe, Head of Housing Strategy, GMCA

Consideration was given to a report, which explained the Greater Manchester Housing Strategy (the strategy) was published in June 2019. Developed through an extensive co-production process, the strategy recognised the importance of housing issues to the achievement of the overall Greater Manchester Strategy (GMS) objectives, and as a result set out a broad and ambitious approach to responding to the housing crisis.

The strategy included a commitment to the development of a publicly available implementation plan, updated on a six-monthly basis. The implementation plan attached to the report provided an update for activity between January and June 2021, and shared progress and next steps. Like the strategy itself, it reported on action that was being led or assisted by collaborative working at a Greater Manchester scale.

The plan had been populated through discussion with relevant GMCA policy leads and the Greater Manchester Health & Social Care Partnership (GMHSCP), and with other key partners including Greater Manchester housing provider representatives, all of whom were involved in the development of the strategy. It captured activity already underway, along with new lines of work to be commenced in coming months, and red, amber, green (RAG) rated activity based on progress.

The report also included the development of an accessible version of the implementation plan. The accessible implementation plan would continue to be updated every six months.

Resolved/-

That Members noted the activity and progress to date on the delivery of the Greater Manchester Housing Strategy.

Verbal update of Anne Morgan, Head of Planning Strategy, GMCA

The GMCA’s Head of Planning Strategy provided an update on the nine District’s Joint Development Plan, which highlighted the process, rationale, the role, and progress of the joint committee and how that could be taken forward, future working arrangements and co-operation with Stockport and next steps.

The main points referred:

·         Members asked for reassurance that there would be no further delays in terms of submission. Whilst issues with resources were acknowledged, work was taking place with Districts to manage the challenge and to meet the deadline of January 2022. Leaders were content with the direction of travel.

·         The Chair thanked the team and all those working in Districts to deliver the plan.

RESOLVED/-

That the update be noted and consultation data be circulated after the meeting.

Presentation of Jill Holden, Greater Manchester Flood and Water Management Programme Manager

a)      Flood Risk Management

b)      Collaborative working

c)      RFCC update

The GMCA’s Greater Manchester Flood and Water Management Programme Manager presented an update on flood and water management that outlined progress and developments since the previous meeting. An update from the North West Region and Flood Coast Committee was also received.

RESOLVED/-

That the presentation be received and noted.

Presentation of Lucy Woodbine, Principal Research, Housing and Planning, GMCA

RESOLVED/-

That this item be deferred to the next meeting.