It’s been 25 years since Flintshire County Council built its last council house but as a housing subsidy system ends, plans are in place to for the next phase of homes to be developed.
Proposals to end the Welsh housing revenue account subsidy system mean that the Council is now planning to build around 100 council homes over the next six years.
Originally designed to distribute the rent revenue received by local councils fairly so that rents paid by tenants throughout the UK remained comparable, the scheme ended up with many councils being in negative subsidy, offering no incentives to build new properties.
Wales was the last place in the UK to operate the subsidy system which was abolished at the end of last year following successful negotiations between Welsh Government and the UK Treasury. Savings made can now be used to invest in housing stock. Local authorities will have more to spend on bringing their homes up to the Wales Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) and can choose to build new properties.
Housing developments will be considered at various locations across the County utilising land owned by Flintshire Council.
Councillor Aaron Shotton, Leader of the Council said: “We are close to realising our vision to start building Council houses once again and providing residents with new Council homes for the 21st century, this will also help the Council meet the increasing need for social housing in the county. A programme of building Council houses in Flintshire is long overdue and I am proud that Flintshire County Council is leading the way in North Wales by investing in our housing stock, benefiting current tenants and generations to come. This is a very exciting time for the Council and all its tenants.”
Councillor Helen Brown, Cabinet Member for Housing said: “There hasn’t been a new council house built in Flintshire since the early 90s and I’m looking forward to seeing plans for the new homes. Tenants will benefit from some fantastic developments and these plans just reaffirm our commitment as a council to meet the affordable housing needs of local residents.”
