St Ives Pioneering Parish Affordable Housing Project-project/consultancy support

Tender description

St Ives Town Council is seeking project support from suitably qualified and experienced individual(s) to assist in the delivery of an innovative housing enabling project - the Pioneering Parish project. The vision for the project is to develop a range of tools and interventions to support and accelerate the delivery of affordable and local needs housing and associated community infrastructure for the St Ives Parish. The project aims to apply innovation and flexibility to find local solutions which best meet community aspiration and the homes which St Ives' needs. The project will utilise planning contributions collected for the St Ives Parish, by Cornwall Council, specifically to enable the delivery of affordable housing. The project is a partnership between the Town Council and Cornwall Council to identify, de-risk and assist in the progress and / or delivery of 250 affordable housing plots within the parish of St Ives. It is expected to run for up to 3 years and will include the following key outputs and outcomes: • A deliverable supply of sites and opportunities for a minimum of 250 affordable homes • A RAG assessment of the most deliverable sites with timescales and agreed action plans for each • A schedule of sites and for each, a suitable set of delivery tools with the aim of accelerating delivery. Tools will vary from site to site but, in general could comprise of • A completed development brief capable of being adopted/ recognised by the planning authority • Completed supporting studies or documents with the aim of re-risking a planning application or delivery • Planning permission (planning in principle, outline or detailed) • Site purchase / Land owner / affordable housing provider heads of terms for agreement • Land owner collaboration agreements • Cornwall Council approval for land transfer • Completed economic viability assessments with agreed affordable housing outputs aligned to housing need and adopted policy • A proactive delivery board with a key objective of accelerating delivery of affordable and local needs homes • The completion of a neigbhourhood priorities statement subject to community consultation. Required Resources Dedicated people resources are identified as the key success factor. Expressions of interest are, therefore, sought from suitably experienced and qualified individuals, freelancers or consultancies. The Council is adopting an open approach to resourcing solutions and welcomes proposals which could see the project scope delivered in the following ways: • An individual seeking a short term contract of employment • A fixed term contract with a freelance consultant • An award to an established consultancy with the relevant skills and a commitment to fund the necessary hours. Project Duration In order to progress and de-risk sites and opportunities, the project is proposed to extend over three years. However, these timescales are flexible and can be reduced, should the project outputs and outcomes be achieved over a shorter period, by being resourced differently. It is anticipated that the likely pace of the project will require a part time project lead, equivalent to 2.5 days a week, to be reviewed annually. However, depending upon how the people resources are procured, this may be on an annualised-hours basis of approximately 975 per year. Funding The business plan sets out an indicative allocation of funding for the project resource's hours of up to £100,000, plus a separate budget of up to £150,000 in order to commission / procure necessary advice, technical reports and support planning applications and community engagement. These estimates are indicative and may be varied by negotiation. Should a member of staff be recruited to the Council establishment, the role will be aligned with the Town Council's adopted pay structure.