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Flintshire County Council unveils plans to build new Council houses
Published: 04/06/2014
It’s been 25 years since Flintshire County Council built its last council house
but as a housing subsidy system ends, plans are in place to for the next phase
of homes to be developed.
Proposals to end the Welsh housing revenue account subsidy system mean that the
Council is now planning to build around 100 council homes over the next six
years.
Originally designed to distribute the rent revenue received by local councils
fairly so that rents paid by tenants throughout the UK remained comparable, the
scheme ended up with many councils being in negative subsidy, offering no
incentives to build new properties.
Wales was the last place in the UK to operate the subsidy system which was
abolished at the end of last year following successful negotiations between
Welsh Government and the UK Treasury. Savings made can now be used to invest in
housing stock. Local authorities will have more to spend on bringing their
homes up to the Wales Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) and can choose to build
new properties.
Housing developments will be considered at various locations across the County
utilising land owned by Flintshire Council.
Councillor Aaron Shotton, Leader of the Council said: “We are close to
realising our vision to start building Council houses once again and providing
residents with new Council homes for the 21st century, this will also help the
Council meet the increasing need for social housing in the county. A programme
of building Council houses in Flintshire is long overdue and I am proud that
Flintshire County Council is leading the way in North Wales by investing in our
housing stock, benefiting current tenants and generations to come. This is a
very exciting time for the Council and all its tenants.”
Councillor Helen Brown, Cabinet Member for Housing said: “There hasn’t been a
new council house built in Flintshire since the early 90s and I’m looking
forward to seeing plans for the new homes. Tenants will benefit from some
fantastic developments and these plans just reaffirm our commitment as a
council to meet the affordable housing needs of local residents.”