Suffolk County Council's Cabinet have given the go ahead to create a joint venture company to lead new housing developments on some of its own land.
Since 2019 the county council, as a major land owner in Suffolk, has been investigating how it can do more with its own assets to support district and borough councils in their role as strategic housing authorities, boost the supply of much needed housing in the county and ensure more of its land is being used to create social value within communities.
Today's decision follows months of detailed preparation, which saw strategic real estate advisor Avison Young and multinational law firm Pinsent Masons appointed by Concertus Design and Property Consultants Ltd; the Service Delivery Group of the council's Corporate Property Division. Their role was to consider delivery and viability options for a range of potential sites across the county with a view to considering how best to bring each forward for development.
As part of this appointment, and in accordance with the original decision of Cabinet in January, the newly appointed advisors also assessed the option of creating a new joint venture company to manage development of the largest potential sites. A business plan for the joint venture was presented to a meeting of Suffolk County Council's Cabinet today where it was agreed to proceed to the next phase.
Councillor Nick Gowrley, Cabinet Member for Housing said:
"This is an important milestone for our housing approach and I wish to thank Avison Young and Pinsent Masons for their work in pulling this comprehensive business case together. Whilst this new joint venture will represent a major part of bringing forward specific land assets for development, it will still only be one part of our overall approach to housing. Those sites not considered suitable for the joint venture, due to size or scheme objectives, will be developed in more traditional ways, such as by sale to a local housing developer.”
Having achieved Cabinet approval, the next phase will be to identify a private sector organisation for the council to partner with in the new joint venture. That formal procurement process will begin in the early part of next year and will look to be completed by the end of 2021.
