Spring 2012 - Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council

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Making good use of our buildings The council owns a large number of buildings across the borough and is keen to make the best use of them to benefit the community and keep council tax low. Business premises, sports facilities, swimming pools, community centres, The Malls shopping centre and the Leisure Park are all owned by the council, as well as the civic buildings themselves. Basingstoke Multicultural Forum Chief Executive Radhia Tarafder and Chair Mano Singh outside Chute House Ron and Marion Lee discuss the expansion of their business at Lion Court with Bruce Batting of the council’s property team Refurbishment boost for small businesses Work to boost a rundown industrial site – Bear, Lion and Eagle Court and the former oil depot site in Roentgen Road, Daneshill, in Basingstoke – is due to be completed next month (April). Bear, Lion and Eagle Court is home to 26 industrial units, developed in the 1970s. While the estate had always produced a healthy rent roll, time had taken its toll and occupancy and rental levels had begun to fall. A £2 million makeover has been successful with one of the tenants expanding into four units, four new tenants keen to move in and the former oil depot site now occupied. The aim is to have 75% occupancy by the year end, bringing in improved rents as well as providing a great base for new and small businesses to develop and grow. New multicultural community hub Council-owned Chute House, empty since the University of Winchester vacated, is to be managed by Basingstoke Multicultural Forum. To be known as the Mosaic Centre, it will act as a hub for a wide variety of community groups as well as offering office space, meeting rooms, training facilities and function rooms. The move comes after the forum impressed the council with a proposal for a positive use of the attractive building to support community groups and activities. To find out more about the Mosiac Centre contact Radhia Tarafder by emailing radhia@bmforum.org.uk or calling 07403 229 099. New surgery building nearing completion The building of a new purpose-built medical centre and pharmacy for residents in South Ham is nearing completion. The council has invested £3.2 million to build a brand new doctor’s surgery with seven consulting rooms, a dental practice and pharmacy. Next door is a new Methodist church with meeting rooms for the whole community on the existing St Andrew’s church site, at the junction of Western Way and Pinkerton Road in Basingstoke. The new buildings will replace the out-dated and cramped surgery at Paddock Road and its satellite surgery in Hatch Warren. The council has funded the building to help the Primary Care Trust to meet the needs of the local community and at the same time get a good rental return. Basing View of the future This is a computer-generated preview of what the Basing View business park will look like in the future. Muse Developments has been named as Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s regeneration partner for a £200 million regeneration project, which will establish Basing View as a 21st century business destination. Muse, a nationally recognised regeneration developer, is now working with the council to develop over 15 acres of land in Basing View into a mix of new office space, a business class hotel and other supporting facilities. It is envisaged that the project has the potential to double the number of jobs currently available at the business park to around 10,000. The council has confirmed that it will commit £3.3 million to deliver critically important estate infrastructure improvements, which has already begun with the demolition of two redundant buildings and landscaping. Building work is scheduled to start, subject to planning approval, by the end of 2013. Cabinet View Cllr Ranil Jayawardena, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Property, said: As a council, we own lots of property and are determined to use this in ways that best meet the needs of our local communities. Through major regeneration schemes, like The Malls or Basing View, and our smaller investment initiatives, we can fund much needed improvements and increase rental returns to make an even bigger contribution to our budget, keeping council tax low. 4 Basingstoke & Deane Today
Changes to housing rents and benefits New homes with extra care Major changes to benefits and the rents charged by housing associations are on the horizon – and the council is keen to make sure that all those who may be affected, now and in the future, get the information and advice they need. National changes to how housing associations let some of their properties will have an impact on new tenants and, in some cases, tenants moving from one home to another: • Tenants renting a housing association property for the first time, and in some cases moving from one property to another, may no longer have the automatic right to stay in that property for life. • There have also been changes to the rights some tenants had to pass on their tenancies to their children • New tenants and those moving from one housing association property to another may find that their rent will no longer be at the current ‘social’ rent level of somewhere around 45 to 50% of the average equivalent rent charged by a private landlord. This is because new ‘affordable’ rents – which may be up to 80% of the equivalent private rent and so higher than social rents – are being introduced nationally on some new properties and properties that are relet. For example, the average affordable rent on a two-bedroomed house in Basingstoke is likely to be around £150 per week but the social rent would have been £106 per week. New ‘affordable’ rents New tenancies offered to those on the council’s housing register may be charged at this new ‘affordable’ rent and may also be available for a fixed term, for example five years, rather than indefinitely. The council advertises all available properties, apart from sheltered housing, in the borough for rent from housing associations through a website called Homebid for people on the housing register. The level of rent and the type of tenancy will be made clear on the website as part of the details of the property so that prospective tenants are aware how much it would cost per week to live there before they make a bid. The successful bidder is usually the one in the highest housing need band, decided by the number of housing ‘points’ they have. New ways of calculating benefits Housing benefit is available to help people and families on low incomes who would otherwise struggle to pay the rent. The ways in which housing benefit is calculated and the amount people are entitled to is changing over the coming years. The Government’s welfare reforms propose changes to the level of benefits and the way that they will be paid from 2013. This is likely to mean that maximum allowable rent levels, known as ‘local housing allowance’, used to calculate housing benefit will fall. This will mean that people need to pay more of their rent as they will get less housing benefit. Other changes may happen and the council’s housing and benefits teams will inform all affected people as soon as the detail is known. The housing and benefits team at the borough council is working closely with housing associations to look at ways to give support and advice to people who may be affected by the changes. For more information visit the website at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/go/housingchanges or call 01256 844844 Newman Court, which offers apartments for shared ownership to people over 55 in Basingstoke, is gearing up to welcome its first residents. The ‘extra care’ scheme in Brighton Hill, built in a partnership between the borough council, Hampshire County Council and Saxon Weald housing association, offers attractive apartments for over 55s with varied care needs. For more information about buying a flat email sales@saxonweald.com or call the Saxon Weald sales team on 01403 226035. For more information on the extra care rented flats contact the borough council’s housing team on 01256 844844. Worrying about debt The council offers mortgage rescue and debt management advice, as well as putting people in contact with other specialist organisations that can help. Getting advice early can stop things getting out of control. Those worrying about getting into debt should contact the council’s housing team on 01256 844844. Cabinet View Cllr Cathy Osselton, Cabinet Member for Housing, Health and Culture, said: We urge people getting into trouble paying their rent or mortgage to get in touch with our housing advice service as soon as possible, so we can help keep them in their home. Families affected by the changes in benefits will also be given support. Basingstoke & Deane Today 5
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Spring 2012 - Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council

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