South Kesteven District Council bosses have boasted benefits to the value of nearly £1million from the authority’s housing company’s first development – but scrutiny councillors calling for a final review say the picture is not as “rosy” as painted.
The council’s Companies Committee on Tuesday was given an update on Gravitas Housing’s Wherry’s Lane build which according to leaked documents last October was expecting a £132,000 loss leading to it being called a “shambles”.
Although updated profit/loss figures were not given to the meeting, Richard Wyles, Assistant Director of Finance at SKDC, told councillors in a verbal update that the financial gains included £498,000 developers contributions into affordable housing, £171,000 in loan repayments, £107,000 in charges for council staff time and New Homes Bonus grants of £188,000.
Councillors renewed calls for a full review into the project to take place once it was complete before a final decision was made whether to move on to new projects, or to scrap the company entirely.
“That impacts on the overall bottom line of the development. Taking a rounded view the council can see some real financial benefits of the development over and above the fact that 25 families will be living in the heart of the town using all the local facilities,” said Mr Wyles.
He said 21 of the 25 homes on the site had been sold or were due to be sold including 19 apartments and two townhouses.
He said interest “remains very strong” and that all the properties had seen interest, however, some offers had not been viable for the company to consider.
He added that the business case when the project was started had shown sub-5% returns and narrow profit margins, adding that the aim was to “stimulate growth in that area of Bourne where the private sector would not trade”.
A document originally published in the public domain in October showed the company making a loss.
Councillors admitted the report was “optimistic” but were still sceptical on the success of the site.
Councillor Philip Knowles said: “I’m sure everyone will be pleased but the fact remains that all those issues of where revenue is coming from were all expected in the budget and the expected profit from the sale of the things will not be achieved and of course, there will be a losson properties that were built on property that we own, and we didn’t have to pay for in the first place.
“So the rosy picture isn’t quite so rosy.”
Councillor Ashley Baxter said he had been to “nearly all” the meetings about Gravitas.
“It was never predicted that that we would lose any money on it. Full stop. Even though it was a marginal scheme the first presentation said it will make so much money and as they went on, we realised that we weren’t going to make so much money. It is a shame that that it is where it is.”
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of possessing criminal property after being stopped by our roads crime team on the A180 yesterday (Tuesday 24 May).
A suspect vehicle was spotted on the eastbound M180 and was brought safely to a stop on the A180 near Croxton.
It is reported that a large amount of cash, cigarettes and tobacco was uncovered.
Both men remain in our custody at this time whilst our investigations continue.
An independent county councillor in Boston has been named as the new chairman of Lincolnshire County Council.
Councillor Alison Austin was elected into the role at the annual general meeting of the full council on Friday, May 20, along with new vice chairman Councillor Robert Reid.
Councillor Austin has served as an independent county ward member for Boston South since May 2013, winning re-election on May 6, 2021.
She will be supported in her role throughout the term by her husband and chairman’s consort, Richard Austin.
Councillor Austin said: “I feel immensely honoured and privileged to be elected as chairman of the county council. I’ve always held a strong sense of community service, and I will continue promoting positive change across Lincolnshire as chairman.
“Amongst my first duties, will be participating in the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. This will be a great opportunity to not only recognise the achievements of our longstanding monarch, but also to give communities the opportunity to come together and mark a return to normality after a difficult couple of years.
“As part of moving on from COVID, I want to focus on the future during my time in office. I look forward to supporting the training and development of residents county-wide. We need to ensure we have a highly skilled workforce so that we can attract and retain businesses in Lincolnshire.”
As part of her duties, Councillor Austin has selected homeless and vulnerable people charity Centrepoint Outreach as one of her chosen organisations to support during her time in office.
She has been a volunteer at Centrepoint Outreach for several years and will continue to support the organisation in this new role.