By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter
A grant of nearly £3 million will be used to help funding towards a council estate development in Mansfield.
A project for 77 new homes on a derelict site off of Broomhill Lane was granted planning permission in 2021, with construction costs estimated to be around £14.8 million.
The vacant site was formerly Brownlow Road and Bould Street.
Mansfield District Council has accepted funding of £2,715,000 from Homes England to help with the site’s development.
As part of the project, 48 houses off Centenary Road will be built for older people and form the last phase of the Poppy Fields Development.
The remaining 29 homes and apartments are part of a connected scheme and will be available for families and those with general needs, with separate access from the Poppy Fields Development.
A bid for grant funding was made to Homes England through the Affordable Homes Programme in July this year.
This programme provides grant funding to support the costs of developing affordable housing across England.
To comply with the funding, it is required that schemes start on the development site by 30 September 2025 and be complete by 31 March 2026.
However the bid was made based on the first 52 properties being completed by the March deadline, as the contractor cannot finish all properties until around May 2026.
The council can claim 75 per cent of the Homes England grant when works on the site begin, with the final 25 per cent being available once 52 properties are finished by March next year.
In a report to be discussed by the council in a meeting next Tuesday (September 17), it said: “Acceptance of the grant funding will help to reduce the level of resources that the Council will have to use to develop Centenary Road and therefore stretch resources further enabling other housing developments to be undertaken in the future.”
Of the properties reserved for older people, there will be six one bedroom apartments, 26 two-bedroom apartments and 16 two-bedroom bungalows, where all will be wheelchair friendly.
The remaining homes will include 14 two-bedroom houses, 10 three-bedroom houses, one four-bedroom house, a single one-bedroom apartment and three two-bedroom apartments.
The homes will all have affordable rents and are proposed to be built to a high quality, whilst also being eco-friendly.
The acceptance of the grant will be discussed in next week’s meeting.
