FOI - Affordable Housing plans in Lambeth [Nov 2022]

Your request

1. When did meetings of the Knolly's Yard Steering Group begin? Is the Steering Group still in existence?
2. Which GLA officers have been involved in pre-application discussions with Prime Place Tulse Hill LLP (Eco-World) and to whom do they report?
3. Which officers representing LBL and GLA and Network Rail currently (and previously) sit or sat on the Steering Group and to whom do or did they report? What are the dates of the meetings that have taken place and are planned? Please provide copies of the agenda, papers, presentations and minutes.
4. When did Prime Place apply for the infrastructure grant awarded by the GLA?
5. Please provide a copy of Avison Young’s due diligence report on the viability of the development based on October 2021 costs and a copy of Prime Place’s viability report.
6. How much Affordable Housing grant was assumed to be required at that stage of the project?
7. What is the current assessment of the size of the Affordable Housing grant needed to maintain a significant percentage of social housing in this era of inflation and rising interest rates?
8. What are the project milestones that need to be met to permit grant drawdown?
9. Have GLA officers had any involvement in the drawing up of the SADPD Site 19 proposals?

Our response

Please see the answers to each question in turn below.

1. 16 March 2021.

2. The following GLA officers have met with Prime Place Tulse Hill LLP (Eco-World) (PPTH) to discuss pre-application proposals:

• Head of Development Management (reports to Assistant Director Planning)
• Team Leader, Development Management (reports to Head of Development Management)
• Senior Strategic Planner, Development Management (reports to Team Leader, Development Management)
• Area Manager, South Area Team, Housing and Land (reports to Senior Area Manager, South Area Team, Housing and Land)
• Head of Development, Housing and Land (reports to Assistant Director Strategic Projects and Property, Housing and Land)

3. Please find attached the dates of meeting, list of attendees and agendas in Appendix 1. There are no other papers available as these meetings were conducted to facilitate informal discussions on matters around the progress of the project.

Please note that the names of some members of staff are exempt from disclosure under Section 40 (Personal information) of the Freedom of Information Act. This information could potentially identify specific employees and as such constitutes as personal data which is defined by Article 4(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to mean any information relating to an identified or identifiable living individual. It is considered that disclosure of this information would contravene the first data protection principle under Article 5(1) of GDPR which states that personal data must be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject.

4. The formal due diligence process commenced between the GLA and PPTH regarding the infrastructure investment proposal into Knollys Yard in December 2021.

5 and 6. The affordable homes proposed to be delivered by the scheme may be eligible for grant under the Affordable Homes Programme 2021 to 2026. Any allocation of affordable housing grant will be subject to a successful negotiated bid for funding submitted to the GLA by a registered provider.

We consider that your request for the provision of information to the Housing and Land Directorate in relation to PPTH’s infrastructure investment and project or site specific information around these assumptions is exempt from disclosure under Section 43(2) (Commercial interests of the Act). Section 43(2) is a qualified exemption and subject to the prejudice test and the public interest test. Under the prejudice test we have to consider if disclosure of this information would, or would be likely to, prejudice our commercial interests or the commercial interests of a third party. Information disclosed under the Act is considered to be public information, and while there is a presumption towards disclosure, consideration needs to be given as to who will have access to this information beyond the requestor and the purposes for which they could use the information.

The GLA has entered into a confidentiality agreement with the developer specifically relating to non-disclosure of the information which was provided for the purpose of assessing and completing due diligence on the infrastructure investment (land fund grant).

Disclosure of this information would reveal assumed affordable housing grant levels which would be likely to harm a competitive bidding process as part of the new Affordable Homes Programme 2021 to 2026.

Disclosure of the due diligence report and the site specific information you are seeking would disadvantage both the GLA and PPTH by revealing sensitive commercial information to competitors. Disclosing the information provided by bidders in confidence in relation to their projects could potentially prejudice their negotiations with suppliers by revealing the nature and anticipated value of works contracts not yet entered into. This would unfairly disadvantage negotiations with prospective suppliers such as contractors, sub-contractors and agents. Sharing of the due diligence report could provide competitors with valuable market intelligence and may result in a change of approach in the market benefiting from the advantage of this information.

The GLA is satisfied that the disclosure of the requested information would likely prejudice the commercial interests of both the GLA and PPTH.

There is, of course, a public interest in promoting transparency of public authority decisions and accountability. However, the disclosure of the information currently identified as commercially sensitive is likely to prejudicial for the reasons given above. Disclosure of this information will expose sensitive financial details, which are likely to impact on not only future strategies but also prejudice the effectiveness of their ability to negotiate and deliver services competitively.

It is our view that, at present, the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing it.

7. This has not been determined yet as no formal bid for funding under the Affordable Homes Programme 2021 to 2026 has been submitted for the scheme to date.

8. The infrastructure grant is expected to be drawn down against specific infrastructure costs which have been incurred by the developer and before start on site for the residential dwellings has commenced.

The project milestones that will need to be met to permit grant drawdown are as follows:

Satisfactory planning permission granted.

Vacant possession of the site achieved.

Acquisition of the site from Network Rail.

Start on site of the infrastructure works.

9. Lambeth’s Site Allocations Development Plan Document (SADPD) was funded by the GLA’s Homebuilding Capacity Fund. Please refer to the following Director’s Decisions available on the GLA’s web site: DD2335 and DD2336.

The GLA has had no specific involvement in the drawing up of the SADPD’s Site 19 proposals.

If you have any further questions relating to this matter, please contact us, quoting reference MGLA131022-1141.