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Sunderland Council to launch as registered provider in return to housebuilding
Sunderland Council is set to become the latest local authority to return to housebuilding and plans to set up as a registered provider, Inside Housing can reveal.
Council officers are proposing the authority sets up a new not-for-profit entity that will acquire and renovate empty homes from the private rented sector as well as build new properties.
It is part of efforts by the council to create more affordable housing and boost occupation of houses currently stood empty in the city.
Sunderland Council made history in 2001 when it transferred all 36,356 homes to Sunderland Housing Group, now known as Gentoo. It was reportedly Britain’s biggest ever transfer of homes at the time.
The council is also expected to eventually follow Liverpool and Peterborough in re-opening its Housing Revenue Account for the first time in a generation. It comes as exclusive Inside Housing research revealed that councils are set to quadruple development over the next five years.
The proposals, which are expected to be approved, will be heard at the council’s next cabinet meeting on November 19.
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In total, Sunderland Council will look to take on up to 1,800 homes as part of a 10-year plan. Within this, the authority would build 490 new homes, with most of these bungalows.
Two schemes in the city, involving the development of nine new bungalows, are already being lined up, with work expected to start next spring, Inside Housing understands.
The council is applying for a Homes England grant to help fund the developments and will also look for investment partners.
Speaking to Inside Housing, Graham Scanlon, assistant director of housing at Sunderland Council, said the new entity would “complement” the city’s housing associations, like Gentoo.
“We are not there to be competition but are here to fill in any gaps that may exist in the sector,” he said.
Mr Scanlon said the aim was to “do an awful lot, more quickly” as registered providers have “limitations”.
The council is expected to be able to fund the initial 200 new homes over the first 18 months, but will then look to re-open its Housing Revenue Account, Mr Scanlon added.
Gentoo, Sunderland’s largest housing association, has been rocked by regulatory issues in the past three years, including a pay-off scandal. However, the 29,000-home landlord returned to a compliant rating for governance earlier this year after a change of management.
Mr Scanlon, who was appointed in July this year, said the council had three priorities as part of its housing strategy: develop more affordable homes, dealing with the city’s problem of empty homes and tackling the homelessness problem.
He added: “We want to make sure the accommodation choices open to [vulnerable people] are appropriate to their needs.”
Sunderland Council launched a commercial housebuilding arm, called Sunderland Housing, in 2017. The entity was meant to develop private rented schemes but, Mr Scanlon, said it had done “little activity” since it was established and its future is under review.
