Agenda item

To receive an overview of the Company from the Managing Director and Chairman.

Mr David Galvin, Managing Director, Blackpool Housing Company (BHC) Limited and Councillor Jim Hobson, Chairman, Blackpool Housing Company Limited provided an overview of the work of the Company to the Advisory Board and highlighted that the vision of the Company was to be the landlord of choice in Blackpool and in achieving the vision to address the poor quality of private housing currently offered in the town.

It was reported that BHC had been established to intervene in the private sector housing market in the inner areas of Blackpool. The Company would have approximately 200 units by the end of March 2018 focussed mainly in Bloomfield, Talbot and Claremont Wards and was trying to cluster properties for impact.

Councillor Hobson highlighted that the main purpose of the Company was to purchase poor quality properties, renovate them into homes to a high standard and subsequently let out and manage the properties and provided an example of a recent project. The Company had also taken on additional roles in project management and was working with the Council and Blackpool Coastal Housing in order to achieve outcomes and regenerate areas.

The Advisory Board was informed that BHC was in the second year of a 10 year programme and aspired to let out between 800 and 1,000 properties by the end of the programme. The financial model of the Company assumed no changes to the loan provided by the Council for the capital programme and that rental income would grow based on an increased number of properties being acquired.

The Advisory Board considered the financial model in detail and discussed how the loan funding was currently provided by the Council to the Company. It was agreed that the Director of Resources be invited to a future meeting in order to explain the funding of the Company in more detail.

Mr Galvin went on to highlight the main challenges facing the Company and the Advisory Board noted the concerns related to achievement of rental income, managing investment risk and private landlord competition.

Members discussed the key performance information of the Company in detail and noted that it would be difficult for the Company to demonstrate qualitative performance through indicators. It was noted that a questionnaire was to be sent to relevant stakeholders including the Police and Planning Enforcement in order to identify differences to reporting from properties before and after BHC purchased the property. For example the Police would be requested to provide an overview of the number of visits to and reports about a specific property in order to identify any changes following the intervention by BHC. It was hoped that the feedback would demonstrate the positive impact BHC had had in stabilising and improving neighbourhoods. It was also noted that monitoring the length of tenancy would demonstrate the impact upon transience.

In response to questions, Mr Galvin advised that the financial model allowed for bad debt provision and that the net income demonstrated achievement of income after non-collection had been taken into account. The Advisory Board requested to receive detail of the level of non-collection in future reporting from the Company.

The Advisory Board discussed further measures of recording customer satisfaction and noted the work the Company was undertaking around signposting tenants to employment opportunities and further education. Members were advised that the Company considered the economic profile of tenants and was prepared to assist tenants with any potential changes in circumstances through Tenant Sustainment Services.

Mr Galvin concluded the presentation by reiterating that the Company’s aim was to make neighbourhoods a more desirable place to live and that critical mass was essential in achieving that aim. In response to a question, he added that BHC supported prospective tenants to make applications through a variety of means such as through social media and in person at the BHC offices. It was important to match the tenant with the property in order to create a community.

The Advisory Board agreed:

1.      To invite the Director of Resources to a future meeting of the Advisory Board in order to explain the funding of the Company in more detail.

2.      To receive detail of the level of non-collection in future reporting from the Company.