Council plans to build affordable homes and care facilities are one step closer to reality.
Long awaited proposals for Kirklees Council backed affordable and social homes in Huddersfield have finally been submitted.
Councillors agreed more than five years ago that a large site at Ashbrow could be used to boost housing numbers.
Council chiefs agreed to sell most of the land and use the cash to subsidise vital social housing creation.
While there will be no council houses, 50 of the 160 dwellings will be so-called ‘extra care’ facilities, managed by Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing.
The flats will be designed with the needs of frailer older people in mind, with varying levels of care and support available on site.
Of the remaining 110 properties, 13 will be ‘affordable homes’ – properties that can be part owned or rented by people on low incomes.
The rest of the houses will be sold to private buyers.
Clr Graham Turner, cabinet member responsible, said the large plot, behind industrial units off Bradford Road, should now be developed relatively quickly.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “We needed to find a private developer with the capacity to do this.
“We want to get things moving as we’re desperate for the extra care places and affordable homes.”
A spokesperson for the council added: “The extra care scheme will consist of 50 flats for council tenants alongside a range of communal facilities.
“Extra care housing has many benefits – it helps older people maintain their independence and reduces social isolation.
“The scheme is designed to act as a social hub and focus for the local community, and this helps tenants feel part of the wider community.
“In addition to the extra care scheme, there will be 13 affordable homes on the site.
“The arrangements for management of these properties will be made by the council’s development partner, Keepmoat.
“Ninety-seven units of market housing will provide a range of homes to meet demand for new housing in the area.
“The homes are generously sized and have been designed with the ‘Lifetime homes’ principles in mind, which means that they meet people’s needs throughout their lives.”
The contract drawn up between the council and developer Keepmoat, requires it to build the extra facility within the first of three phases of building.
The site, open land behind Asda at Brackenhall, was once used by Huddersfield Technical College for students on agricultural and horticultural courses.
A wildlife survey has concluded there would be no significant damage to the habitat if a new estate was built.
The council has gained a £1m loan from the Leeds City Region to pay for road layout changes to give access to the secluded plot.
A road into the new estate, adjacent to Ashbrow Infant and Nursery School, will be at the junction of Bradley Boulevard and Ashbrow Road.
Kirklees has plans for a second similar scheme at Soothill, Batley.
The Examiner revealed this month that more than 100 council houses are sold under Right to Buy every year, at huge discounts of up to £78,000.
But Kirklees has built only a handful of council homes to replace them as it is only allowed to keep a third of the sale price.
