Published: Tuesday, 18th June 2019
Cannock Chase Council and Development Partner, Novus Property Solutions recently celebrated the delivery of the Former Garage Sites and Other Council Owned Land Redevelopment Scheme.
The redevelopment scheme has utilised former or disused garage sites and other pieces of underused Council owned land across the District and produced 39 properties built for the Council to let for affordable rent. The design and build of the scheme was undertaken by Novus Property Solutions.
New properties have been delivered across the 11 sites in the District - in Cannock, Hednesford and Rugeley - providing 28 two bedroom houses and 11 two bedroom bungalows.
An event to mark the completion of all the properties was held this week, with Council members, senior officers, Novus Property Solutions and Finance Birmingham (on behalf of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Economic Partnership (GBSLEP)) representatives getting together and taking a tour of the last site to complete at Brunswick Road, Cannock.
The scheme’s 39 new Council houses and bungalows were made possible through the Council’s Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme and also funding from the GBSLEP and Homes England.
The GBSLEP partnership is made up of businesses, the public and education sectors. It aims to drive sustainable economic growth across the city-region, creating jobs and improving the quality of life for residents. GBSLEP has awarded the Council £585K from their Unlocking Stalled Housing Sites Fund, supporting the project’s aim to provide much needed affordable and quality homes.
The Council also benefitted by securing Homes England Affordable Homes Programme grant monies of £432K to further fund the circa £4.7M redevelopment scheme.
Councillor John Kraujalis Portfolio Leader for Housing said “We are delighted to have delivered this redevelopment scheme, providing high quality housing for the residents of the District. I’m pleased we were able to provide a mix of properties on the sites, including 11 new two bedroom bungalows.
“The scheme also made better use of a number of large former and disused garage sites and other under-used land which not only improved the general environment but also helps in reducing incidents of anti-social behaviour.”
Andy Green, Investment Director for Finance Birmingham added “The successful delivery of this scheme has transformed under utilised land into much needed quality housing, repurposing dis-used and underused sites across Cannock Chase District.
This is a prime example of how the Unlocking Stalled Housing fund, which is still open to applications from eligible schemes, is successfully accelerating housing developments within the GBSLEP geography.”
Dean Povey, Senior Operations Manager at Novus Property Solutions, commented: “Redevelopment projects like this help bring forward much needed housing to local areas. Cannock Chase Council has put otherwise unused land to good use, providing homes for affordable rent for people in the community.
“We have a deep understanding of the affordable housing sector and are partnering with housing associations and council across the country on a range of new-build, planned refurbishment and maintenance projects. Through this work we’re able to provide quality affordable homes, helping house those priced out of the traditional market.”