Barnsley Council could make compulsory purchase of homes

Victoria Street in Barnsley is one of the roads affected

Barnsley Council is set to spend millions on buying houses that will be demolished to make way for new homes.

The scheme, which would see 30 terraced homes in Goldthorpe lost, is part of a wider project to build new, energy-efficient council houses.

The local authority said it was having "active conversations" with the homeowners affected.

The council offered market value for the homes, plus a further 7.5% of their value, as a "basic loss payment".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, it has so far purchased 14 houses on Co-Operative Street and Victoria Street, with the owners selling voluntarily.

A spokesperson for the local authority told the BBC it was in discussions with the owners of the other 16 properties about buying them.

More than £1.7m has been set aside for purchase costs, with £441,000 spent compensating homeowners. The total cost of acquiring the homes would be almost £3m, according to a council paper.

'Safe living environment'

Nine new, energy-efficient council homes will be built on the site of the former buildings, which the council said would "diversify" property types in the area.

They would be a mixture or two and three-bedroom houses, the spokesperson said.

The council said if it cannot purchase the homes it could lose government funding for the scheme, and if the plans did not go ahead, current issues in Goldthorpe would not be addressed.

Local jobs would be created during construction, and the scheme would lead to a reduction in the number of empty properties and turnover of private rented properties in Goldthorpe, it added.

The new homes will be designed to create a "safe living environment with reduced levels of antisocial behaviour, fly-tipping and crime".

The council will now apply to the Secretary of State to acquire the land where the ownership is unknown "as a measure of last resort".

If approved, it will be able to compulsorily acquire the land.