Wolverhampton gets £6m social housing boost
Over a dozen small social housing schemes will be built out across the city, after a grant from the West Midlands Combined Authority landed today.
A total of 140 houses will be built at 14 development sites, set to be delivered by various contractors attached to the city council’s housing framework, after the city received funding from a £40m Social Housing Accelerator Fund, launched by West Midlands mayor Richard Parker last year.
Under the scheme, 140 homes will be made available for social rent, to be built as a mixture of 1,2,3 and 4-bedroom houses, flats and bungalows on new sites, and through the replacement of existing homes that the council says have poor thermal efficiency and are of “poor quality or non-traditional construction.”
City of Wolverhampton Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for City Housing, Councillor Steve Evans, said: “This additional funding from the WMCA will allow us to make a significant number of new council homes affordable for residents on low incomes.
“We are committed to driving the construction of more affordable housing and these social rent homes will have a huge impact, helping get people and families out of temporary accommodation and off the housing waiting list.
“The Social and Affordable Housing Programme is just one part of our overall house building strategy, which will deliver hundreds of new and better homes for local people in well-connected neighbourhoods across the city, enabling them to benefit from improved health outcomes, lifestyle and sustainability.”
Across the region, the WMCA-backed Social Housing Accelerator Fund scheme is designed to directly fund the construction of 1,000 new social houses.
City of Wolverhampton Council says the extra funding will bolster a £19.7million Homes England-funded Social and Affordable Housing Programme pilot for the city, which will see construction start on more new homes over two years.
“This funding means 140 Wolverhampton families struggling to afford a warm and secure place to call home will see their lives changed for the better,” said Parker.
“By working together in this way, we can provide more genuinely affordable homes and start to tackle this housing crisis. It has blighted too many lives, including those of thousands of children, for far too long.
“Having a secure, affordable home is a basic right for people and that’s why I’m focused on building more social homes across our region.”
