Council gets £500k to buy vulnerable groups a home

North Northamptonshire Council, based at the Corby Cube, have received funding from the government

A council has been awarded more than £500,000 from the government to help purchase homes for vulnerable groups.

North Northamptonshire's executive unanimously approved plans to spend £870,800, part-funded through £528,063 from the government's Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF).

Four properties will be bought and renovated, with three to be used as temporary accommodation for homeless households and one for the housing of an Afghan refugee family.

Martin Griffiths, Reform UK leader of the council, said: "This brings valuable assets into the council to be used for housing."

The rest of the funding was made up of £240,000 from the local authority's general fund capital and £110,000 from its Housing Revenue Account capital, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

North Northamptonshire Council previously benefited from two prior rounds of LAHF funding, where it received £3.2m and £1.2m from the government, respectively.

Using this alongside council money, it was able to purchase 41 properties for homeless households and for people in the Government Resettlement Programme, which helps find a home for refugees.

Griffith said: "We must be pragmatic about not refusing grant funding and understand that the benefits achieved for our residents are significant."

It is anticipated that offers for suitable properties will be made in October, with tenants allocated to the homes in March 2026 after renovation works were complete.