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HDV decision goes back to Haringey cabinet
Haringey Council’s cabinet will reconsider its contentious decision to establish a £2bn joint venture with private developer Lendlease.
The council’s overview and scrutiny committee ruled in a meeting last night that the decision to establish the Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV) would have to go back to the cabinet after a ‘call-in’ from the Liberal Democrats.
At the meeting, it was also revealed that Haringey Council could have to pay a 10% premium to buy back its land if the HDV were to wind up – information that had previously been redacted.
Bob Hare, the Liberal Democrat councillor who spearheaded the call-in, argued that the HDV was too risky for the council, and said he was concerned that the stated aim of delivering 40% affordable housing could be subject to change if Lendlease were to submit financial viability assessments suggesting a lower proportion.
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Alan Strickland, cabinet member for regeneration and housing, told Mr Hare: “Some of the things that have really hit residents hard have been the catastrophic policy decisions made by a Lib Dem-Tory government that your party was a huge part of.”
Mr Strickland also hit out at local Labour MP David Lammy for criticising the HDV. He pointed out that when Mr Lammy ran for mayor, he endorsed the idea of joint ventures. Mr Strickland accused the MP of having “completely changed his mind”.
Clive Carter, another Liberal Democrat, highlighted the issue of the wind-up transfer price, redacted from publicly available information, which Haringey Council would have to pay to Lendlease to get its property back if the HDV were to collapse.
One way the vehicle could collapse is if the council were to be unable to reach an agreement with Lendlease over any reduction in the percentage of affordable housing to be delivered.
Dan Hawthorn, director of housing and growth at Haringey Council, revealed that in some circumstances, the council would have to pay “the independent valuation of the asset plus 10%”.
It was unclear whether he was referring to a situation where the winding-up was the fault of the council or one where no particular party was to blame.
Campaigners are still planning a legal challenge to the vehicle.
A Haringey Council spokesperson said: “This is a significant decision for the council and it is obviously right that there is debate and scrutiny. Our cabinet will meet on Thursday evening to look again at the HDV decision taking into account recommendations from the overview and scrutiny committee.”
