Affordable homes pilot scheme starts in city

Construction will include one to four bedroom houses, flats and bungalows for affordable and social rent

Wolverhampton has been selected to pilot a programme of 200 affordable homes being built in the city.

City of Wolverhampton Council will get access to a share of almost £20m in government funding to build at 11 sites over the next two years.

Construction will include one to four bedroom houses, flats and bungalows for affordable and social rent.

The scheme will see council houses built on new sites and existing homes that have poor thermal efficiency and are of poor quality or non-traditional construction will be replaced.

The city is the first local authority in the country to trial the scheme which sees Homes England, the government's housing and regeneration agency, working collaboratively with the council, the authority said.

Shahi Islam, director of affordable housing grants at Homes England, said: "This new way of working is another example of how the agency works collaboratively with local authorities to achieve our mission to build much-needed new communities that people can be proud to call home."

Steve Evans, deputy leader and cabinet member for city housing, said the "additional financial certainty" enabled the council to speed up delivery of housing provision.

"One of our key priorities is to build new and better homes for local people in well-connected neighbourhoods across the city," he said.

"This pilot will deliver new homes that will mean residents and the wider community benefit from improved health outcomes, lifestyle and sustainability."