Affordable homes boost for Exeter
Published: 23 November 2022
Affordable housing in Exeter has received a boost following the awarding of £293,391 government funding for a scheme in the city.
The money – from the Brownfield Land Release Fund – will allow up to15 affordable homes to be built in Lower Wear Road.
The funding for Lower Wear Road is part of an overall £911,000 that will see four projects across Devon benefit from government funding. All four projects are on brownfield sites.
The Devon and Torbay One Public Estate Partnership successfully secured the money from the Brownfield Land Release Funding to support the projects.
The funding is a share of £35.9 million awarded to English councils to enable the release of council brownfield land for housing.
The scheme will allow 15 affordable homes to be built using a modular build approach. It is the first scheme of its type that Exeter has put forward for Brownfield Land Release Funding and it will also use the Prisoners Building Homes programme, working with Exeter Prison offenders to construct the modular homes.
Cllr Barbara Denning, Lead Councillor with responsibility for Council Housing, said: “I am delighted with this funding which will help deliver much needed affordable housing in the city.”
The Lower Wear Road scheme is one of a number of sites that the Council are investigating for the delivery of new build, low energy, council housing. This site forms part of the overall Housing Revenue Account development programme, with the aim of delivering 500 new Council Housing homes by 2030.
Other projects across the county set to benefit from the funding are:
- Shapland Place and St Andrews Estate – Mid Devon District Council. Creation of 14 affordable modular homes.
- St Kildas Brixham – Torbay Council. Provide 23 affordable homes to be delivered by 2025.
Councillor Rufus Gilbert, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Economic Recovery and Skills, said: “I’m pleased that a number of areas across Devon and Torbay will benefit from this latest round of funding and we’ll be bidding for more in future rounds. The One Public Estate programme is ensuring vital gap funding is making it possible for these essential housing projects to go ahead which is good news for local residents and our local economy.”
The Devon & Torbay One Public Estate partnership is made up of 10 local authorities (Devon County Council, East Devon District Council, Exeter City Council, Mid Devon District Council, North Devon Council, South Hams District Council, Teignbridge District Council, Torbay Council, Torridge District Council and West Devon Borough Council) as well as the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, Devon & Cornwall Police, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, the NHS, and South Western Ambulance Service.
The Brownfield Land Release Fund is administered through the One Public Estate programme which is a partnership between the Office of Government Property in the Cabinet Office, the Local Government Association and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Up to £180 million in capital grants will be available through Brownfield Land Release Funding over the next three years. The Devon and Torbay One Public Estate Partnership is currently developing a plan for the later rounds.