Plans to build some of the first new general needs council houses in more than two decades could be given the go-ahead next week.
Bath & North East Somerset Council’s cabinet will consider whether to build 58 new council houses to rent, to help meet the high demand for affordable homes in the area, when it meets on Thursday 11th November.
If agreed, the new homes would be the council’s first directly delivered and owned general needs housing in a generation.
Councillor Tom Davies, Cabinet member for Council House Building said: “Bath and North East Somerset is a very desirable place to live but that’s resulted in high house prices and rents which are out of the reach of many, so there’s a huge demand for affordable homes right across the district.
“At the moment there are around 6,000 households on our social housing waiting list, but typically only around 600 properties become vacant each year.
“We are determined as a council to play a leading role in helping to bridge this gap and for this reason I am delighted that the cabinet is being asked to approve the first new general needs council houses in our area for a generation.
“The council’s Corporate Strategy made a clear commitment to deliver more social and affordable housing and this is the first phase of what we intend to be a substantial programme of new council houses over the coming years.
“We will also ensure that this programme delivers homes which are designed and built in a way which meets our commitment to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies.”
Under the proposals, the new homes would be designed, delivered and owned directly by the council, meaning schemes could help deliver the council’s goals by minimising environmental impact using low-carbon technology.
The report being discussed also highlights the opportunity to speed up delivery and reduce waste through innovation, with the potential use of ‘Modern Methods of Construction’, where key elements of a building are constructed off-site using prefabricated or pre-assembled products.
The report says the cost of delivering the homes would be around £12m, with most of the money coming from central government grants and council borrowing funded by the rental income.
It recommends the cabinet allocate funding to the council’s property company Aequus to work up development schemes to planning application stage at five sites, with council officers working up delivery proposals for another three.
Bath & North East Somerset Council is currently developing around fifty units of specialist and supported housing.
This includes accommodation for former rough sleepers and more temporary accommodation for homeless families in crisis. These units will increase the council’s ability to provide residents with suitable accommodation and support when required.
You can view the report to the cabinet here.
To watch the cabinet meeting live or view it later, visit the council’s YouTube channel.