More affordable houses are coming to the West Midlands town of Dudley as approval for the first new council homes in two decades was given after Dudley Council was awarded £4million from the Coalition Government’s Home and Communities Agency (HCA).
Developers will build eighty new homes throughout the borough and the HCA are delighted to be supporting the local council with the investment to deliver new homes. The much needed homes will be of a high quality and cater for a range of different housing needs including supporting people with learning disabilities. The major projects for these new build council homes look set for completion towards the end of 2013 but some are expected to be finished in spring next year.
Dudley Councillor for housing, Adrian Turner said: “We are aiming to try and bring in as much affordable housing to the area as there has ever been for almost 100 years. We are continually developing sites, and so we will be eventually looking to replace every house. We are also looking to improve the state of homes for the elderly by installing more energy efficient systems that will help to keep temperatures warmer through winter months and keep fuel costs down. We are also working with private companies and investors to keep these improvements at a low cost, so people will not have to pay as much as they would have done, if we had gone commercially.”
Affordable housing is a problem for anyone looking to buy or rent a home, and the council hopes the scheme will dramatically reduce the housing waiting list in the Borough. The spending cuts imposed by Central Government on local authorities means that homes typically covered with landlord insurance by buy-to-let investors will have to take up some of the slack. However, the council has big plans for the regeneration of the borough. It seems Dudley’s efforts will be a welcome solution to the UK’s housing shortages, and should set the standard for other areas to follow.