Council slams 'ghetto' affordable housing plans

The masterplan for the Dallington Grange housing development - the area on the south border highlighted in pink is to contain a group of 100 affordable homes

A Northamptonshire council has slammed plans for what they called a "ghetto" of 100 affordable homes in a housing estate.

Permission was originally granted by the now-defunct Northampton Borough Council for the outlined plan of up to 3,000 homes to the north-west of Northampton town centre.

In a meeting on Tuesday, an application to approve 237 homes included only 16 affordable houses, which falls below West Northamptonshire Council's current policy of 30% affordable housing.

Permission was granted to lower the rate to 10%. However, since the 16 homes equated to roughly 6%, a group of affordable properties will be at the south of the new Dallington Grange estate.

Councillor André González De Savage said he was “not happy at all” about the provision of affordable housing being “shoved” into a “corner somewhere”.

In the meeting, he added: "We need to create communities and not ghettos - we desperately need the [affordable] homes now."

The proposed group of 100 affordable houses will be delivered prior to the occupation of 300 houses in the whole Dallington Grange estate.

Councillor Bob Purser said: “I really cannot support another application that doesn’t provide affordable housing, let alone social housing which is equally important.”

The application for the 273 homes on the north border of the site was approved and the possibility of getting the 100 affordable homes delivered earlier is being explored.