Plans for 50 new homes in Sandwell set to be approved
A £70 million scheme to provide around 600 new council properties in Sandwell is to get a boost this week as plans to build up to 50 homes are expected to be given the green light.
Members of the borough’s planning committee are being asked to approve the housing applications as part of a three-year plan to provide more accommodation in the borough.
Councillors are expected to grant planning permission for the separate projects, which included 27 homes in Rowley Regis and another 23 on two separate sites in Smethwick.
All three are on council-owned land and include a mix of semi-detached, terraced houses and bungalows.
The developments are part of programme to deliver hundreds of new homes by 2021 which will include local authority funded construction and properties built by private firms along with existing homes which are for sale.
Councillor Joanne Hadley, cabinet member for homes, said the projects would add to much needed social housing.
“We are investing around £70 million to provide around 600 new council homes between 2018 and 2021," she said.
“Sandwell’s population is growing so we need to increase the number of affordable homes available to local people so they can create a stable environment for themselves and their families, and feel part of a growing community.
She added: “We’ve already handed over the keys to around 240 new homes to tenants with the building of further 400 either underway or in the planning stages.
“We’re achieving this by building on council-owned sites with partners such as Seddon, buying off plan from developers or more recently buying properties on the open market where it makes sense to do so.”
A fourth application to build an additional 20 new flats in five existing apartment blocks on Hartlebury Road, Oldbury has been deferred to the planning committee’s next meeting.
Councillors will discuss the applications at their meeting on Wednesday
