Councillors welcome boost for affordable housing

South Norfolk councillors have today welcomed a deal which means that local people are to get more than 180 new affordable homes. The council has just signed a planning agreement with a consortium selling land at Cringleford for around 750 homes. It follows months of complex negotiations with the consortium by planning and housing officers.

It is estimated that around 480 people could be housed in the affordable homes, which will be a mix of 56 flats and 132 houses.

The affordable homes, which will be built over the next 10 years, will be offered to Cringleford residents first, then for people in South Norfolk, and finally if these two demands have been satisfied, they will be open to everyone else.

The deal is the biggest provision of homes in the county of Norfolk without any public subsidy being used, and it is the biggest single boost to affordable housing in South Norfolk for many years.

Council Leader Richard Carden said:

“This is what we mean by putting people first in everything we do. It’s about meeting local housing need. The agreement we have negotiated underlines our long-term policy objective of delivering more low cost homes directly to the people of South Norfolk.

“It’s a tough policy - we make no apology for it. Developers know that in the housing plans they submit to us, they must include 25% affordable housing.

“Cringleford is just part of what we are doing to meet the need for affordable homes among our residents. We are working on other projects which will secure for local people the opportunity to buy or rent a home they can afford.”

Cabinet Member for Care Fairness and Housing, Vivienne Clifford-Jackson said:

“We have young people, manual workers, nurses, teachers and others on low salaries who live in South Norfolk and want to be independent and buy or rent their own home. We are a net exporter of graduates, many of whom are leaving because they can’t afford to stay. And every week, individuals and families approach us asking for help in finding a home.

“The Cringleford development, and the many others we are negotiating, offers local people the opportunity they have been hoping for – a new start for some, a foot on the housing ladder for others.”

The affordable homes element of the Cringleford deal makes up a quarter of the total development envisaged – in practice, that means each time a group of homes is built, it will include 25% affordable homes. That means local people get the practical benefit of the policy as the development progresses.

Of these affordable homes - a third will be set aside to buy for low cost ownership, and two thirds will be available for rent through a housing association.

And the council has ensured that the affordable housing will be spread across the development - again in accordance with policy. That means developers do not group affordable homes into just one area.

The deal has been signed with a consortium of landowners. They will now begin marketing the land to home developers, subject to the deal conditions agreed with the council.

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