Groundworks start on Council’s Housing Stock New Builds
Mid Devon District Council has started work on another development, to add to its increasing number of council-owned homes for local people.
Groundworks have started at Beech Road in Tiverton, with work due to be finished in Spring 2023, while the building work at Siddalls Gardens, Tiverton is nearing completion.
Two, one bedroom flats are being built at Siddalls Gardens while in Beech Road there will be a small development of three, one bedroom flats. All of the homes will be retained council stock properties. The Council hopes the new tenants will be able to move in early in 2023.
Cllr Stuart Penny, Cabinet Member for Housing and Property Services, said:
“This Council has, quite rightly, decided the provision of high quality, social housing is a top priority. We know there is a shortage of affordable homes for local people and we have a commitment to provide for them. Our targets are ambitious but we are progressing with more planning applications being submitted and more developments being completed each year. I am looking forward to seeing these exciting developments move forward and to welcoming our new tenants into their new homes next year.”
The latest projects follow the completion of several council-owned housing schemes in the past nine years that includes 26 homes at Turner Rise (2019), 4 homes at Birchen Lane Tiverton (2018), 6 homes at Fir Close in Willand (2015) and 14 homes at St. Andrew Street in Tiverton (2015) and 22 homes at Joseph Locke Way in Crediton (2013).
The Council also has plans to increase its housing stock further in 2023 with plans to build 70 new council homes at Post Hill, Tiverton and 14 council-owned, carbon neutral homes at two modular housing developments in Cullompton and Tiverton.
The aim for the Council is to build 160 new council houses by 2025, through a mix of social (50% market rate) and some affordable (80% market rate) rate homes.
Simon Newcombe, Corporate Manager Public Health, Regulation and Housing, said:
“We have a particular focus on affordable and social rent properties, alongside a strong commitment to having low-carbon, accessible and adaptable homes. This means we can support our residents to access good quality housing, which will help our economy as a whole, ensuring our communities are sustainable in the longer term and contribute to the district’s future prosperity.”