By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
Plans for 34 new council-owned affordable homes which would fill a “void” on a Kirkby-in-Ashfield estate are recommended for the go-ahead.
Ashfield District Council’s planning committee will discuss the authority’s own plans, at Warwick Close on the Coxmoor estate, during a meeting on Thursday (August 25).
It comes as part of a £4.75m project to bring new life to now-vacant land that once housed council flats.
The “good-quality, low-rent” social houses, if approved next week, would take on the land previously blighted by anti-social behaviour before the council demolished the flats 12 years ago.
The demolition left sections of land on either side of existing Warwick Close homes, which would be redeveloped with the new housing.
Documents confirm the project will include 18 two-bedroom and 16 three-bedroom houses, with all properties semi-detached.
The land was previously allocated for council-owned housing in December last year, with the authority’s cabinet stating £1.46m of the £4.75m project is to be funded via Homes England.
The remaining £3.29m, the cabinet meeting heard, will be funded by the authority and supported through Right-to-Buy receipts.
Previous council forecasts suggested the properties will provide the authority £187,874 per year in rent income and help reduce a 4,000-person waiting list for properties in Kirkby.
It comes as part of the authority’s plan to build 100 social or council homes between 2018 and 2023 – a target Councillor Jason Zadrozny (Ash Ind), the council’s leader, says has now been surpassed.
He has confirmed the meeting will be held next week to ensure councillors can approve the properties in time for the Home England funding to be used, with the authority not normally holding planning meetings in August.
The committee will be recommended to approve the development.
Cllr Tom Hollis (Ash Ind), deputy leader of the authority and portfolio holder for housing, previously said the new homes will help to regenerate the site and provide good-quality homes for residents.
Speaking before the cabinet meeting last December, he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The site used to be council housing before it was knocked down and it has been a bit of a void in the middle of the estate.
“Now we’ve got a chance to not only regenerate the site but to provide some good-quality, low-rent social homes for people to live in.”
Three objections were raised to the plans when a public consultation was held this year.
The objections focused on issues with properties being overlooked, issues with the boundaries of existing homes and potential anti-social behaviour issues.
However, no objections were raised by consultees from organisations such as Nottinghamshire County Council, local healthcare, Severn Trent Water, the Environment Agency and the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust.
The council will be asked to pay £24,500 to Nottinghamshire County Council for bus stop improvements, with a further £18,423.75 needed for healthcare contributions.
