First council homes built in 20 years set for property hotspot

NEW council homes are to be built for the first time in nearly 20 years in one of the county’s property hotspots.

The homes will be built in the Derbyshire Dales, which have seen some of the biggest house prices rises in recent decades.

Derbyshire Dales District Council sold off 3,338 houses in 2002 to Dales Housing for £24.8 million, with the housing association agreeing to carry out £39 million in repair and improvement works.

Now, 18 years on, the authority has approved plans to create 52 so-called “affordable homes” it would renovate or build and own over the next seven years. Councillors signed off on the plans unanimously on Thursday.

Locations for where the homes would be built have not yet been revealed – this would come later in the process and include planning applications to the council itself.

It is teaming up with a “development agent” to get the work done, but the council would maintain oversight on the homes and they will remain owned by it.

The total cost of the homes would be £5.95 million, which would be found from housing developers through Section 106 agreements (contributions to new infrastructure), grants from Homes England and down payments from residents buying into shared ownership schemes.

Of the 52 homes, 43 would be available at a lower rent (80% of the local market rate) while eight would be shared ownership (through which a tenant gradually purchases more of the property towards total control) and one would be “other low-cost rent”.

The council says that it aims to build seven homes in the first phase – up until April 2021.

It will procure a housing association to maintain services at the homes on its behalf – with the authority acting as overall landlord.

Nine of the homes would not be new-builds but are existing empty properties. These would be fully refurbished through the council to bring them up to modern standards – along with renewable energy, such as solar panels.

Income from the project to the council is estimated to be £821,000.

Rob Cogings, the council’s director of housing, wrote in a report: “Delivering its own homes, on its own sites, will mean that the council can specify and deliver exactly what is required to meet local need and to a standard that fully supports vulnerable households. Additionally, this programme will deliver housing that has a high level of energy efficiency.

“In 2019, the council declared a climate emergency and in response to this have set a target to be carbon neutral by 2030.

“As a measure to achieve this target, the council has a budget of £10,000 per home for all homes, except those from S106 opportunities, to make the homes delivered through their affordable housing programme energy efficient.”

Officers confirmed applicants for the homes would be vetted to ensure they meet the criteria of being in need of lower-cost housing.

Councillors urged officers to ensure the homes stayed in rotation for tenants permanently, and were not available on a right to buy scheme.

Elected members welcomed the return to building council homes and returning to the duty of being a landlord. Cllr Mike Ratcliffe said it takes the council back to the “good old days for local authorities”.

Cllr Garry Purdy, Conservative leader of the authority, said he was raised on a council estate and knows their value. He said: “I’m not a raving Tory, I have social values.”