Housing scheme worth £100m gets council backing

The average price of a house in east Devon now exceeds £346,000

A £100m scheme to build hundreds of new houses in east Devon has been given the go-ahead.

East Devon District Council's (EDDC) Build and Buy Housing Investment and Delivery Plan plans to address local housing pressures by building 500 "high-quality" and "energy efficient" homes before 2030, the local authority said.

It said the scheme would be funded through borrowing, government grants, and developer contributions.

After councillors backed the plans in a cabinet meeting, a spokesperson said the project was "one of the most significant housing commitments" EDDC had ever made.

'Creating a community'

Average housing prices in east Devon now exceed £346,000, which the council said was more than 10 times the local average salary.

It added its housing register showed more than 2,300 households were in need of somewhere to live.

Half of the 500 homes would be built on council-owned land by regenerating existing estates and developing sites it considered underused, the council added.

The remaining 250 would come from deals made with developers, housing providers, and "off-the-shelf" purchases.

'Safe, secure and affordable'

"We're not just building houses; we're creating communities where people can feel proud to live," said councillor Dan Ledger, from EDDC.

He added: "Safe, secure and affordable housing underpins a thriving community, and this programme reflects our shared ambition to provide the right homes, in the right places, with the right support."

The houses will be a mixture of two to four bedroom homes, the first of which are forecast to be available as soon as 2026, EDDC said.