Plans to investigate providing sustainable and affordable housing to address the climate emergency and give the council more control over standards of new homes have been set out in a detailed report.
The council house building programme report will be considered by the council on 7th November, and contains a range of options for further investigation that would provide more affordable housing options to residents including shared ownership, equity stake or ways to allow cheaper rents.
The proposed building programme would support the council’s commitment to address the climate emergency by giving it greater control over the energy efficiency and environmental standards of new homes.
Over the past eight years, the council has already delivered 1,582 affordable homes with 669 of these being provided in the last three years alone.
Rented properties make up 73% of these, with 27% having gone to affordable home ownership.
Councillor Tim Ball, cabinet member for Housing, Planning and Economic Development, said: “We have delivered more than 1,500 affordable homes for residents in Bath & North East Somerset but we want to build on this success by securing more social housing, in particular rented homes.
“It’s also important that we have more control over the standards of the homes we provide in order to make housing stock greener.
“Better energy efficiency not only helps tackle the climate emergency but also helps people to avoid fuel poverty and improve their lives.
“We will consider all of the options in the report and their financial implications before acting on any of the suggestions.”
A key proposal in the report is for the council to register as a Registered Provider of housing, allowing access to funding from central government.
The feasibility of using empty properties or bought properties at social rent levels is also up for consideration.
The council has already set up Aequus, a company that is delivering sustainable homes to meet local demand and set the standard for the building industry.
Current projects include the Sladebrook Road development in Bath to deliver nine family homes as a low energy exemplar development, and 95 apartments at Riverside View in Keynsham to provide homes for local people.
