- Goodwin Trust is a development Trust based in central Hull which has secured Registered Provider status with Homes England. In 2016 it completed its first affordable housing scheme on the Thornton estate, providing 5 x modular built 3-bedroom family houses built to Code 5/passivhaus standards
- Working in partnership with Hull City Council’s Housing Department, Goodwin subsequently bid successfully to the Homes and Communities Agency (now Homes England) for further funding to develop an additional 41 affordable homes. The Council agreed to provide land for the development and took up nomination rights for tenants
- The Grant from the HCA was £2 million, leaving a £2.2million funding gap in what was a £5 million project. It was proposed that Hull could contribute to the overall financial package by providing the shortfall as a fully repayable loan to Goodwin. The financial risk was rated as “low” since, subject to the proposed affordable interest rate, the loan could be readily repaid from rental income and was secured against the asset.
- Using its power to borrow under the Prudential Code, Hull City Council has committed to lend Goodwin up to £3 million, subject to key milestones in the development programme being achieved. The interest rate was set at 0.75% above the rate at which the Council could borrow (at the time 2.75%) and fixed for 30 years, having been judged to have no adverse impact on the Council’s revenue budget and its Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP). During the course of the loan Goodwin have the facility to re-finance the project and repay the loan at any time without penalty.
- The City Council considered that they avoided contravening any State Aid rules by making the loan on what they deemed be “normal market conditions” to an organisation otherwise unable to access appropriate borrowing
A more extensive case study of Hull City Council’s support for CLH can be found here.
A more general overview of capital funding through local authorities in England can be found here.
Published in March 2018
