£1m bid for new council houses development (From The Bolton News)

£1m bid for new council houses development

2:20pm Sunday 5th July 2009 in

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LAND has been earmarked for the first council houses to be built in the borough for more than a generation.

Town Hall chiefs have put forward a £1 million bid to develop houses on Hamilton Court, Little Lever.

The last council houses were built in Bolton more than 20 years ago and in Little Lever almost 30 years ago. Cllr Nick Peel, Bolton Council’s executive member for housing, said: “There’s clearly some momentum from the government to put councils at the forefront of building social housing and this may only be a small start but we don’t want to miss this opportunity.

“We are putting in a bid for £1 million to build 17 new houses. Authorities up and down the country are bidding for this government funding so we know it’s going to be really competitive, but we’ve thrown our hats into the ring.”

Properties on Hamilton Court were demolished as part of the authority’s Transforming Estates programme at the start of the year.

Cllr Peel said: “If we do get the green light, then these will be the first council houses built in Bolton in the past 20 years. We would be looking to create a mixture of housing to meet local need.”

After the 1970s, councils built increasingly fewer homes and the introduction of the Right to Buy, under the Housing Act 1980, led to a decline in the numbers of houses available. In 1986, councils were given the option to transfer their housing stock to registered social landlords and today housing associations and arms length management organisations such as Bolton at Home are largely responsible for social housing.

Ward councillor Sean Hornby welcomed the plans, saying there was a demand for social housing in the area. Across Bolton 14,000 people are “actively” seeing properties, according to the council.

He said: “Little Lever is a desirable place to live, and many people who grew up here want to stay here. There is a long waiting list for properties.

“When Hamilton Court was demolished it took 18 months to rehouse the majority of the residents as they wanted to stay in Little Lever.

“I welcome the plans, as a project like this is important given the current economic climate.”

The plans to build council houses is on top of a bid announced by the council in April to build 500 properties within the next three years, with up to 4,200 across the borough over the next decade. Town Hall chiefs are awaiting approval for that bid from the Homes and Community Agency.

Shelter chief executive Sam Younger today also welcomed the plans.

He said: “New money for affordable housing is what Britain’s crisis-hit housing industry needs. Building affordable homes will begin to tackle the severe lack of housing throughout the country and give families and young people the chance of a decent home.”