Corby council spends almost £2m on Priors Hall homes and could agree to buy more tonight

Corby Council has spent just under £2 million adding to its housing stock by buying up ten new homes on the Priors Hall estate.

The authority says it has paid national builder Jelson Ltd £1,910,000 for the ten new builds and has financed £573,00 of the purchase from its Right to Buy receipts with the other £1,337,000 coming from reserves and borrowing. Eight of the homes are now in use as part of the council’s housing stock with the final two due to be ready in November.

The council will decide tonight at its One Corby meeting in a behind closed doors exempt session whether to follow advice of officers and buy more homes.

There are five exempt items on the agenda, with each matter being exempt due to ‘Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person’ however after a request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the authority has given more details of what’s to be discussed.

The authority described the report on the homes buy up matter as: “Recommending purchase of 11 new build properties on Priors Hall. The purchases to be financed from a combination of Right To Buy receipts (30%), Reserves and Borrowing. Requirement on CBC to utilise percentage of RTB receipts this year, otherwise monies returned to Government. The properties when occupied would provide an approximate rental income of £43,479 p.a. to the Authority. Any purchase would comply with the agreed Medium Term Financial Strategy and in line with the approved Capital Programme and Funding Strategy.

Acquisitions would be made from an established developer, that CBC has done business with previously with no negative repercussions. Further details on purchase, if approved, can be provided once purchases confirmed.”

In making a matter exempt the authority must decide whether ‘in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information”.

Some councils decide to redact financial information or put the details on another private paper that can only be viewed by councillors and officers, so that the matter can be discussed in public, however this has not been standard practice at the Labour-controlled local authority in recent years.

Other matters to be discussed tonight in private include agreeing a lease extension for Corby Amateur Theatrical Society at South Folds Road and to Stanion Parish Council for land at Keebles Field. Approving arrangements to market the authority’s remaining 18 acres land at Oakley Vale, which is in joint control with Great Oakley Farms, is also to be decided.

The Kingswood and Hazel Leys Big Local (KHL) a Community in Sheds project will be discussed in public.