AUTUMN 2017
NEWS FROM BASILDON COUNCIL AND YOUR COMMUNITY
BOROUGHDIARY 9
HOUSINGNEWS Autumn 2017
CONSTRUCTION ON FIRST NEW COUNCIL
HOMES IN 25 YEARS GET UNDERWAY Construction work is well underway on the first homes to be built by Basildon Council in 25 years. Councillor Kerry Smith, chairman of the housing and community committee, recently visited the redevelopment at Victoria Road, Laindon, together with policy and resources committee chairman, Cllr Gavin Callaghan, to mark the milestone and the first of 584 houses planned to be built in the next five years. They observed the progress being made on the four, two-bedroom homes, which are expected to be ready early in the New Year and will replace a former garage site. Victoria Road is one of three sites which will provide a total of 11 much needed homes for families who are on the council’s homeseeker register. Cllr Smith, said: “These new homes are part of the council’s ambitious new homes pipeline that will provide a balanced mix
of housing in order to meet the housing needs of local people. “These sites provide an ideal opportunity to transform under occupied garage sites that can be a magnet for flytipping and anti-social behaviour into high quality homes.” Cllr Gavin Callaghan, added: “This shows the council is serious about building council housing and ensuring we provide high quality homes for people in our borough. “We want to ensure we have properties that meet the need of residents from our housing register. Additionally, through Sempra Homes, we want to support borough key workers to get a first step onto the housing ladder and we also want to ensure we retain young people who might have otherwise had to look for homes outside the borough. This is just the beginning in an aggressive new strategy for council house building in Basildon.”
Mark Davison (Indecon), Joe Stanhope (Basildon Council development support officer), Cllr Gavin Callaghan, Mandie Skeat (Basildon Council’s head of housing and community services), Louise Humby (Basildon Council project manager), Cllr Kerry Smith, Nicholas Hall (Indecon)
Sempra homes that will be available for shared ownership are: Four-bedroom home, St Nicholas Mews, Ballards Walk development (available now) Four two-bedroom houses, St Nicholas Mews, Ballards Walk development (available Dec 2017) Six two-bed shared ownership houses, Roman Way Billericay (available 2018) Nine one and two-bed homes, Pound Lane, Laindon (available 2018) 20 two-bedroom apartments at Long Lynderswood, Basildon (available Sept 2018 with options to purchase off plan before this date) Three two-bedroom homes, Rayside East, Basildon
KEY WORKERS PRIORITISED FOR NEW HOUSING
As part of the delivery programme, the council, through Sempra Homes, will give priority to Basildon’s key workers who wish to purchase one of Sempra’s new shared ownership homes. Cllr Gavin Callaghan, Basildon Council’s chairman of the policy and resources committee, said: “Sempra Homes was established to deliver a range of new homes across the borough and I am delighted that they are delivering schemes to local key workers and residents through their shared ownership programme.” Melanie Keys, manager of Sempra Homes: said: “Shared ownership provides an opportunity for residents to purchase a share in a home where outright purchase is not affordable and pay affordable rent on the rest, with an option to buy further shares in the future and eventually own 100%..” “Through our shared ownership programme we are working alongside the Government’s Help to Buy scheme, enabling residents to purchase an initial
25% share of their home.” Applicants will need to satisfy the Government’s Help to Buy criteria for shared ownership.
MAKING THE BEST USE OF UNDERUSED SPACES
The majority of the new homes programme will see quality homes built on underused sites across the borough, providing much needed housing for residents. Three homes at Rayside East, Basildon, will replace 36 garages, 34 of which were not in use. Cllr Andrew Gordon, Basildon Council’s vice chairman of the housing and community committee, said: “The council is committed to redeveloping underused parcels of land which will help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour and revive areas at risk of falling into disrepair.” Find out more about Sempra Homes at www.semprahomes.co.uk or follow Sempra on Twitter @SempraHomes Find out more about Sempra Homes at www.semprahomes.co.uk or follow Sempra on Twitter @SempraHomes