56 council houses to be built as part of £8 million project in Wolverhampton

Chiefs at Wolverhampton Council said a total of 56 council houses will be built under the next phase of the project.

It comes as the fourth phase, delivered by J Harper & Sons, of the new-build council housing programme is reaching completion.

A total of 16 old garage sites and small plots of disused land have been identified after investigations, checks and a consultation.

Work will be carried out across this year and next year by local contractors selected through a tendering process, with small and medium enterprises encouraged to bid.

Proposed sites include Southall Road, Wolmer Road, Woodside, Townson Road and Simmons Road in the Wednesfield North ward.

Land south of 97 Myatt Avenue in Ettingshall, Park View in Bilston North, Cavendish Road and Abingdon Road in East Park, and Batmanshill Road in Bilston East are all included.

Bushbury Magic Gardens, land next to 129 Goodyear Avenue, land next to 32 Annan Avenue and land between 48 and 50 Neve Avenue – all in Bushbury South or Low Hill – also make the list.

Other locations include Elmdon Close's former allotment site in Oxley and Inkerman Street in Heath Town.

Councillor Jacqueline Sweetman, cabinet member for city assets and housing, said: "This scheme is helping smarten up neighbourhoods in the city while providing affordable housing to residents in housing need.

"It started as a pilot programme and has grown from strength to strength, delivering almost 100 council homes in its first four phases.

"The selected contractors are delivering what we ask of them to improve our housing offer and it has proved to be an effective way to deliver new homes for the people of Wolverhampton.

"Crucially, it increases the city’s houses stock when it needs it most."

The builds will be funded from the Housing Revenue Account capital budget, subject to Cabinet Resources Panel approval on Tuesday.

The scheme is monitored through a joint-project team from Wolverhampton Council and Wolverhampton Homes, to ensure the new council homes are built to a high standard.