Land deal proposed which would bring more affordable homes to Hartlepool

Hartlepool Borough Council chiefs have reported a housing developer has approached them looking to acquire land off Seaton Lane.

The land is just beyond an original 3.71 acres which the council agreed a deal to provide to a developer in 2018, with 55 homes being built on that land by Port Homes.

The deal agreed for that land was a housing stock offer, where a number of the properties constructed on the site would be transferred to the council as affordable homes to be part of its housing stock, instead of a conventional cash offer.

The finance and policy committee has heard the developer, Port Homes, has approached the council for the further parcel of land to extend their existing development, with the same type of offer as previous.

Although officers noted there are a number of issues which must be addressed before an agreement is reached, councillors backed going forward and exploring the deal.

Cllr Shane Moore, council leader, said: “I think the current scheme that is already in place and being worked up by these developers is a good one, and is changing the complete look of Seaton Lane, they are selling particularly well, and I think the offer is a fair one.

“It also has the added benefit of opening up secondary access for our remaining land for us to be able to potentially develop, or then sell on to other developers at another time.”

Chris Little, council director of resources and development, outlined how, if a deal would be reached, it would benefit the council.

He said: “Instead of getting cash we were going to receive properties on the development, those properties benefit the housing revenue account (HRA).

“The housing revenue account then makes a payment to the general fund for the value for the land so it’s a win win, because we get more housing stock and we get a capital receipt.

“There are a series of issues that we need to work through, what we want is, in principle, to effectively progress this and we’ve set out the issues that still need to be resolved.”

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Issues include how the land in question is not currently allocated as housing land in the Hartlepool Local Plan, but as natural and semi-natural green space, which would be an issue for the planning department if proposals came forward.

A legal agreement will also have to be completed detailing the timescale for completion, confirming the value and equivalent number of properties to be transferred, and other conditions.

Cllr Christopher Akers-Belcher backed moving forward with a deal, adding it would be the best option for the council.

He said: “I just don’t think based on previous decisions that have gone through we could get a better offer than what’s on the table, I just think it’s a win, win.

“We need to have some resilience in our budget going forward and the opportunity to build our HRA is a really good one, where we also get capital receipts.”

Cllr Jim Lindridge added: “I think it is a good offer. Building up the housing stock, it’s giving residents choice, it’s developing an area that’s in need of further regeneration, and if the two phases go ahead, even better.”

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