Sefton Council’s Cabinet today approved the go-ahead to acquiring 18 new apartments that will be the Borough’s first new council housing in since 2006.

Sandway Homes, the authority-owned housing development company, is scheduled to start work on the Buckley Hill Lane, which will include the mix of one- and two-bedroom Council homes, in early November.

Amazing realisation

After today’s meeting, a delighted Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing said: “This is an amazing realisation of work that has been going on for a long time to create the type of housing Sefton has needed for a long time.

“Today’s decision makes clear that we are on the side of local people in recognising the need for secure, quality accommodation and providing those much-needed homes."

Rental will be reinvested

At their meeting today, Sefton Council’s cabinet also agreed a £2.2 million Supplementary Capital Estimate funded through Section 106 housing capital receipts, historic right to buy sharing agreement receipts and Homes England grant funding. The scheme was also supported with £1.05m from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Rental from the scheme will be reinvested into Sefton Council’s Housing Programme.

Electric vehicle charging points to each of the new properties at the Buckley Hill development and to the apartment block. Apartments on the ground floor will be built to meet national accessibility and adaptability standards.

Energy efficient design with high thermal efficiency values to reduce heat loss, high efficiency boilers and heating systems are among the measures that will help reduce the Buckley Hill Lane site’s carbon footprint and offset its impact on climate change.

Commitment to new, high-quality homes

Cllr Hardy added: “Today confirms that Sefton Council’s decision to establish Sandway Homes in 2018 as part of our  commitment to creating the new, high-quality homes was right.

“Today marks the start of our drive to re-establish a strong council housing stock in Sefton."

Helping to transform families' lives

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “Having grown up in a council house, I know first-hand the stability that having a quality, secure home can bring to a family.

“Yet Margaret Thatcher’s policy of selling council housing stock without investing in replacements resulted in decades of decline - and the housing crisis facing families has only got worse. The cost-of-living, married with a spiralling property market, means that, for many families, the dream of taking the first step on the housing ladder is far beyond their reach. Through developments like this, we’re helping to transform families' lives by building affordable homes they can call their own.

“This is just scratching the surface of my housebuilding ambitions. Through my Brownfield Land Fund, we’ve committed £60m to build 4,000 homes across our region, helping local people to realise their home ownership ambitions while also protecting our precious green spaces from over development. It’s proper levelling up in action and I can’t wait to see the thriving communities it helps to create.”

Links

You can use this link to find out more about Sandway Homes and its developments in Sefton. 

You can find the papers for todays Cabinet meeting here.