Issue - meetings

Background:

This report provided details of the Utilisation of Commuted Sums Policy. Council and Government policy currently required affordable housing to be provided on site to meet housing need and create mixed sustainable communities. The process for achieving this was via the Council’s section 106 negotiation process. When the Council was unable to achieve the contribution as built units, a commuted affordable sum could be sought from the developer to enable the delivery of affordable housing on another site. This policy would provide the basis for when it would be appropriate to seek a commuted sum, how it would be calculated and how it would be spent.

Details of the consultation undertaken on the proposals was set out in section 5 of the report. A Diversity Impact Assessment had been undertaken on the proposals, as set out in Appendix 3 to the report.

Reasons:

Approval of the Policy will allow the allocation of commuted sums to deliver affordable housing to meet the housing need of Medway’s residents. Delivering new homes will reduce the financial burden placed on the Council for placing households in temporary accommodation.