Plans for new council homes at sites across Kettering borough

The authority is forging ahead with plans to build new homes to help ease the housing waiting list with a variety of different schemes being progressed.

Planning applications are in for 22 new affordable homes at council owned land on Scott Road and six new homes could be built by the authority at Albert Street.

The authority will also spend £210,000 on buying a small site on Stamford Road in Kettering which could accommodate six to eight family size homes. The Willow Close garage site in Desborough is also a possible option for a small development of bungalows.

And the long-neglected Lawrence site in Desborough could also be coming forward as the council is putting forward £200,000 to pay for design teams to come up with possible plans for this site and for the Willow Close and Stamford Road sites.

Executive director at the council Martin Hammond said: “This design work will identify costings and timeframes, and we expect the Housing Revenue Account will pay for the Lawrences site and the other sites being brought forward, starting in 2019/20.”

It is expected that subject to planning permission the build could start at the Scott Road and Albert Street sites this coming April.

In order to build the Scott Road homes the council is set to borrow £2m and use £871,000 of its own funds from right to buy receipts. For the Albert Street development it is borrowing £578,000 and using £248,000 from the sale its council stock under the right to buy scheme.

The authority has 3,800 homes in its council stock with 30 per cent of those built before WWII.

However like many councils across the country the authority is struggling to home the ever increasing numbers of households who are becoming homeless. In the most recent financial year it spent £1.1m on temporary accommodation, such as B&Bs, for those in need.

According to latest figures from the Kettering authority 150 households each month are joining its Keyways housing register each month.