Proposed scheme to kick start stalled housing developments
Telford & Wrekin Council is looking at ways to speed up active regeneration of the borough by piloting a ground-breaking scheme.
The scheme would help private companies complete housing developments delayed by the economic recession.
There are a number of housing schemes in the borough that either have not been completed or were never started because the financial crash resulted in falling land values – meaning the schemes were not viable for private developers to complete.
Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet is being asked to approve a pilot scheme which will see capital funding of up to £156,000 and/or a loan being made available to a developer to help them complete their stalled development site.
Developers will be invited to bid for financial support with the chosen pilot project needing to deliver more than 10 homes. They must also be able to show they have exhausted all other funding routes. Bids will be evaluated against detailed criteria which will be published via the Council’s online procurement website.
Telford & Wrekin Council is proposing to borrow £2m in the short term to fund the scheme. This money will be recovered through a combination of the New Homes Bonus, additional council tax income payable on the new properties and developers repaying the loans.
In an additional strand to the scheme, a similar plan is being put to cabinet which would give financial support to landlords and owners to bring accommodation above retail premises into use for residential purposes. The pilot would initially focus on Dawley and Wellington High Street as part of forthcoming regeneration plans for both areas.
As with the funding for stalled sites, any investment made by the council will be offset by future income from New Homes Bonus and council tax as a result of the properties being converted and occupied.
Councillor Charles Smith, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Housing, Development and Borough Towns, said:
“The economic downturn in many ways has left councils with a unique set of circumstances to resolve and this is a proactive way of tackling the problem.
“By putting a fund in place to help developers to start building homes due to problems accessing finance, we will create a situation where everyone wins.
“It will mean housing schemes which have stalled are completed, more homes built and jobs created and it will all help to lift the local economy."
Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet meeting on January 29 is being asked to give the two pilot schemes the go ahead and to approve the required initial borrowing for the stalled sites scheme.
