£5million to meet region’s homes need

Bath & North East Somerset Council has been awarded more than £5m by the Government to deliver new homes across the area.

A record 1,245 new homes were built in Bath and North East Somerset between April 2017 and March 2018, of which 192 were affordable.

Of these, 249 were created by converting buildings previously used for business purposes. During the same period, 74 empty properties were brought back into use.

As a result, the council has been awarded £5.1m from the New Homes Bonus Scheme, introduced by central government in 2011 to encourage councils to grant planning permission for new homes in return for additional revenue.

Councillor Paul Myers, cabinet member for economic and community regeneration, said: “This is fantastic news. Bath & North East Somerset’s allocation is on a par with big cities like Bristol and Birmingham, and way above other comparable historic city districts such as Oxford and York.

“It proves we are delivering on our commitment to help meet the housing needs of local people and it’s our residents who will benefit as the extra cash will help fund essential services.”

New housing developments have also generated more than £11m income from Community Infrastructure Levy, which is being spent on new infrastructure such as roads, schools flood protection and town centre improvements across Bath and North East Somerset.

The delivery of a record number of new homes in the district has been driven by a strong market demand. Working to the council’s Core Strategy, the Housing Enabling team and Planning department have worked efficiently to progress development proposals more quickly over the past five years.