Torbay Council is getting on the with job of increasing the delivery of new affordable homes for local people.
The Council has pledged an extra £20million funding to deliver its ambition of an average of 75 high-quality homes a year.
It is already delivering new ‘council housing’ for social rent at two disused former hotels in Torquay under its pioneering ‘Hotels to Homes’ programme, the first of which will complete before Christmas 2025.
And a further scheme at the former St Kilda’s care home in Brixham will see 23 new homes built for older people, all for social rent.
The funding agreed earlier this year will support further ‘brownfield’ redevelopments and kick-start several more projects to achieve the ambitious target of many more homes for local people.
Reusing ‘brownfield’ sites in this way helps protect green fields from development and supports the regeneration of Torbay’s towns.
The schemes already under construction are the first new ‘council housing’ projects to be built directly by Torbay Council in a generation.
The funding pledge of an extra £20m of investment signals the step-change in housing delivery taking place in Torbay to tackle the housing crisis.
The Council is carrying out its Housing Delivery Plan to ensure there will be more good quality, affordable and permanent properties that people, including those who are vulnerable, or care experienced, can call their home. To do this, the Council is working with landlords and developers to maximise the use of suitable housing stock, including social housing, and create decent accommodation across Torbay.
The Council has demonstrated through its first schemes a commitment to working with local construction and development-industry partners and intends to replicate this wherever possible.
This helps to retain as much of the financial investment as possible within Torbay and helps support a strong and sustainable economy with a diverse mix of industries and jobs.
The new homes for social rent will be in addition to affordable housing delivered by private developers through planning agreements. They will help the Council supply homes for local families, as well as contribute towards meeting the Government’s national housing targets.
The Council’s innovative strategy of ‘brownfield first’ is designed to prove that this type of scheme can be viably delivered in Torbay and minimise the need for building on precious edge-of-town ‘greenfield’ locations.
It has also committed to further accelerate the delivery of social housing by transforming disused sites such as former hotels, or redundant community or public sector land no longer suitable for the original use.
Creating new homes at these locations and on other infill sites stops them attracting anti-social behaviour and becoming a blight on the neighbourhood.
Cllr Alan Tyerman, Cabinet Member for Housing and Finance, said: “These much-needed new homes for local people will be in sustainable locations, ideally placed for access to jobs, public transport and services.
“We have been pioneering the delivery of new homes for social rent with our innovative ‘Hotels to Homes’ programme for about 18 months. We have proved that it works and can deliver more of the homes our residents need.
“I am delighted that the Council approved an initial £20million capital programme recently. This has enabled us to press ahead with the next phase of our housing delivery plans in Torbay by building more homes for local people within our towns.
“It is important to note as well that the delivery of this programme is being supported by our innovative decision to use the additional revenue generated from an increase in Council Tax on second homes, for the affordable housing that our residents need.
“This is a much-needed step-change in approach by Torbay Council, and I look forward to welcoming the first of the residents into their new homes later in the year.”
All the new homes developed by the Council will be available at social rent to households with a local connection to Torbay and will be allocated through Devon Home Choice.
The mix of social housing that will be provided includes:
‘extra-care’ homes for those with mobility needs
homes for local key workers that support vital public services like the NHS
homes for older people to encourage downsizing
general needs social housing for families including children.
The Council’s ‘Hotels to Homes’ scheme has already secured £3million of funding from the UK Government and £2million from the Devolution Deal for the new Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority. Grant funding has also now been secured for the first four schemes from Homes England’s Affordable Homes Programme.
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