269 homes agreed – with a third going back to council to rent out
COUNCIL chiefs have approved plans to give land in Runcorn to a housing developer for 269 new properties, on agreement that almost a third will be given back to the council to rent out as affordable homes.
The authority’s ruling executive board met at Runcorn Town Hall to approve the proposals for Priory Meadow in Castlefields.
Previously known as Canalside, the site – near Norton Priory, Town Park and the Bridgewater
Canal – is one of the last pieces of the wider Castlefields Masterplan regeneration project.
The council will now invite developers to ex press interest in building 269 properties and – when an agreement is reached – the developer will essentially be given the land for free.
Instead of money, the developer will have to provide the council with around 96 of the new properties it constructs.
The council will then find a Registered Provider (RP) – a housing association – to manage its new properties and lease them out.
Any agreement with an RP would initially be for 20 years.
The council said the move will help address housing need in the borough, while also bringing in extra revenue.
Cllr Stef Nelson, executive board member for environmental services, told the meeting that some developers had already come forward to express interest.
Cllr Dave Thompson told the board that the plan “ticked every box”.
He said: “Sometimes we see initiatives that come from the City Region or Government, but this comes from the council itself and it shows absolute innovation in the way to approach housing.
“There is, at the end of the day, a need for more affordable housing and a need for good quality designed and built schemes.
“When the council has this level of control it can ensure that takes place, more than with a private development.
“In this case, we have absolute control to make sure this is a quality development.”