New council homes given green light
A scheme to build 23 new high-quality council homes in Wirrall has been given the green light.
Nearly £1.44m of vital funding has been released by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), which means construction of the new affordable homes can now go ahead.
The properties will be built across three borough council owned sites in Seacombe, Bebington and Prenton. The scheme will see the construction of nine two-bedroom bungalows, eight two-bedroom flats, four two-bedroom houses and two three-bedroom houses. All properties will be managed by Wirral Partnership homes.
Building jobs are set to be created when work begins on the site in summer 2011 and the council has already committed to offering apprenticeships and boosting local construction recruitment to help support Wirral's economy.
Chris Blakeley, Cabinet Member for Housing and Community Safety told the Fleetwood Weekly News: "This is good news for Wirral and I am delighted that the HCA has recognised how good the proposals were.
"This funding will enable us to meet the demand for accommodation in Wirral with homes that are built to a high quality and will enable tenants to benefit from more energy efficient properties."
To gain investment for the new builds, Wirral Council had to demonstrate that the scheme would be good value for money, met specific local housing needs and met higher energy efficiency standards.
Deborah McLaughlin, director North West at the HCA said: "We are delighted to support the building of homes on the Wirral and look forward to seeing residents move into these great new homes."
Author: Hannah McLaverty-Williamson
Keywords: building jobs