Eastleigh Borough Council Cabinet Meeting

There were no declarations of interest in relation to items of business on the agenda.

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 7 December 2023 be agreed as a correct record.

There was no public participation on this occasion.

There were no recommendations from Committees on this occasion.

Issue

The Council previously purchased 129 hectares of land to the west of Horton Heath and is progressing with the planning and delivery of a new community.  Reports have been brought to Cabinet discussing progress to date and relevant approvals in October 2017, July 2018, April 2019, September 2020, December 2021 and October 2023 with the resultant project known as ‘One Horton Heath’.

The principles behind the project remain sound with the business plan for the Lower Acre, and business planning for the site for a whole, delivering a net financial return for the Council, despite increased costs and delays arising from economic conditions including the Covid-19 pandemic. (Paper 6)

Consideration

With the majority of work on infrastructure for the wider scheme either complete or underway, the project is in a position to begin house build with the intention to commence construction during 2024 with first occupations programmed for early 2025.

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet:

1)  approved an additional capital budget of £115.8M to complete delivery of the Serviced Land, Overheads and Sales and Marketing for the whole One Horton Heath Development to be funded from future income from the scheme;

2)  approved an additional capital budget of £38.4M to deliver the first delivery phase known as the Lower Acre, to be funded from future income from the scheme;

3)  delegated approval to the Service Director for Finance, Improvement and Strategic Housing to complete the purchase of the housing sales system for a cost up to £350,000 (included within the amounts at recommendation 1);

4)  approved the procurement and contracting strategy for residential main contract works on the Lower Acre;

5)  delegated authority to the Leader and Deputy Chief Executive (CFO) to award the Tier 1 in-parcel infrastructure, services and associated groundworks contract for the Lower Acre at a maximum value of £8.9M (included within the amounts at recommendation 2);

6)  approved capital funding of £75,000 to commence work on self-delivery of the new Primary School (full expenditure covered by recommendation 1);

7)  approved production of the Brief for the second phase of housing in the north of the development, namely The Holme/Homestal c.350 homes ; and

8)  approved the updated Prudential Indicators as detailed at Appendix 6.