£2.3m for new Dudley council homes
More than £2 million will be spent on building new council houses in Dudley, it was announced today.
The project is the second phase of the first council house building programme in the borough for 20 years.
Council bosses want to help meet the huge demand for properties in the borough.
It comes after work was completed on almost 100 council homes earlier this year.
An extra £1m, which will cover the cost of 10 new homes, is being added to the original £1.3m fund, which will be used to replace houses which have been sold under the Right to Buy scheme during the current financial year.
The council owns around 23,000 properties across the borough. Figures released in April showed there were around 6,350 people on the waiting list for a council home.
Housing chiefs say there is currently a shortage of one and two bedroom properties and also larger homes with four or more bedrooms.
They also want to provide more homes that enable tenants, including the elderly and those with specific care and support needs, to live independently.
A report by Dudley's director of adult, community and housing services Andrea Pope-Smith says: "It is intended that this new build programme will be a long-term commitment, and details of proposed schemes will be brought to future meetings of cabinet.
"Our priorities for new build are to provide homes that are energy efficient and suitable for modern living."
It adds: "Building on infill sites such as former garage sites will also bring vacant land back into use and will reduce the incidence of anti-social behaviour that can become a problem with such sites."
The proposals will go before the council's cabinet members at a meeting tonight.
In January work was completed on homes in Brockmoor, Quarry Bank, Hawbush, Lower Gornal and Upper Gornal.
The 99 properties included two, three and four-bedroom houses, two-bedroom bungalows and three separate apartment blocks each comprising six two-bedroom apartments for use by people with learning disabilities.
The schemes were built on old infill and garage sites. Some also replaced old 'orlit' style houses which were blighted by structural problems. The scheme was funded partly with a £3.9m grant from the Homes and Communities Agency.
Local business: Gould's Electrical Superstore, Sedgley
