200 new Wolverhampton homes will cut council waiting list
A total of 200 new affordable homes will be built in Wolverhampton which, it is hoped, will help cut the waiting list for council accommodation.
Wolverhampton Council is poised to deliver the new homes over the next four years through its new housing company, WV Living. A further 600 will also be built but these will be available for private rent. The company, which was approved at a meeting earlier this week, will start trading soon, backed by up to £40 million of investment through council loans, which will be paid back to the council at a commercial rate.
Wolverhampton has enough land to meet housing targets but the council is eager to speed up the actual building of homes. WV Living will borrow from the £40m pot as and when required to fund its costs. It will repay the council from income made through the sale and rental of homes. The repayment of the loans will generate additional income for the council, which will be used to support the provision of other council activities and services.
Affordable Housing is defined by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and is part of government planning policy which states that any site that has more than 15 houses built must make a quarter of them available for affordable housing.
Affordable housing can be a maximum of 80 per cent of market rent or market value on starter homes.
WV Living will offer some of this affordable housing to the council to purchase but if the council choose not to buy it then it will be offered to other registered housing providers, such as housing associations.
Valuable
Councillor Bilson, deputy leader and cabinet member for city housing and assets, said: "This is a win win for the people of Wolverhampton. We want to accelerate the building of new homes, valuable new homes that are going to generate income as well as support our regeneration ambitions to develop areas in need of improvement. Most importantly, a quarter of these 800 homes will be affordable homes, which means they will available to those on the Wolverhampton council list."
The first phase of the development, to start next year will see around 400 WV Living homes built at the former Danesmore Park Primary School site in Ashmore Park, former Wednesfield High, former baths site on Prouds Lane in Bilston, and former Ettingshall School site.
Work is expected to begin in spring 2017.
