Moves to build 100 more cheap homes

More than 300 affordable homes need to be built in a Staffordshire district each year to meet demand.

Cannock Chase District Council has set the target but will come up a third short this year with around 200 set to be built.

Thursday's council cabinet will hear housing policy development committee recommendations to boost numbers of new affordable homes. The cabinet will be urged to keep using developers' cash as part of planning agreements as well as using sites from housing associations.

The committee also wants to see continued provision of approved financial contributions to housing associations to buy additional properties to meet local need and possibly developing a local housing company over the medium to long term.

Eligibility criteria for people wanting to move from private accommodation to affordable housing, where existing property must be worth less than £80,000 and they must have a certain level of disability, may be dropped to help more people find suitable homes.

Councillor Brian Williams, cabinet member for housing, said: "We will see around 200 new affordable homes this year so will will need to up that figure in the coming years. The measures being recommended should help to ensure we meet our targets.

"Around 20 homes are currently being finished off on the sites of two former old people's homes which were outdated, so we knocked them down, freeing up the land. "There will be 12 at homes at Cherry Tree House in Brereton and a further eight at Cornwall Court in Hednesford.

"Then there is the Elizabeth Road scheme in Chadsmoor which should be completed next year with between 100 and 130 homes, depending on the final planning process. The council is extremely committed to providing affordable houses for those who need them."

Meanwhile, he said more than a third of people in bungalows with one door say they want a second installed for safety reasons. All 360 such properties were sent consultation papers offering to do work to make the properties, labelled by councillors as potential death traps in the event of a fire, safe.

A second door was wanted by 140, while 39 said they were not interested and the others did not reply.