Housing Council plans 495 homes in joint venture
HUNDREDS of new homes could be built on councilowned land in a new approach to housing delivery in South Gloucestershire.
Up to 495 homes will be built on four as yet unnamed sites, if South Gloucestershire Council’s plans to work with a private developer come to fruition.
The Conservative-led authority identified the four sites – three of which are in the countryside – from more than 100 parcels of councilowned land.
It is investigating a joint venture approach to building the homes after rejecting the idea of setting up a council-owned company for the purpose.
In neighbouring Bristol, the Labourled city council has set up its own house building company, Goram Homes, to work with the private sector to deliver new homes.
But South Gloucestershire’s ruling Tory administration rejected that approach last week after officers advised their pipeline of projects was too small to warrant the costs of setting up and running a housing company.
Instead, the council will look for a joint venture partner with “mutual values” to build homes on the four sites it has assessed as being “viable for development”.
This approach will give the council more control over the standard and type of homes built on its land without all the risks of being the sole developer, cabinet members heard.
It will also give it the chance to share in the profits of development, which could be used to provide more affordable housing.
At present, the council can make money by selling land to a private developer, but has limited control over what is built apart from the planning process.
Cabinet member for corporate resources Cllr Ben Burton said a joint venture approach would give the council the chance to build the homes the community needs: good quality housing for local people, affordable housing for key workers, and housing that is net zero carbon or even carbonnegative.
Cabinet member for housing Cllr Ben Stokes said: “A joint venture gives us that flexibility: the ability to influence the design, to influence the building process and create homes that really will help our residents to prosper.”
As well as extra affordable housing, the shared profits could also be used to improve local green spaces, biodiversity, and green infrastructure, the meeting heard.
The council will continue to explore the joint venture approach following cabinet approval on November 2.
The suitability of the four sites for development must be appraised as part of the ongoing new local plan process.