Stoke-on-Trent is set to become one of 20 authorities outside London to receive Housing Zone status…
Stoke-on-Trent City Council has been chosen as one of 20 local authorities outside London to drive home building. The Chancellor George Osborne announced today that the region will receive specialist Housing Zone status. This will enable the council to work with developers to reduce the risks associated with building.
A bid for £4m has been put forward by Stoke-on-Trent to enable the redevelopment of up to eight brownfield sites, which would deliver almost 1,200 new homes over the next five years.
Some of the areas set to be redeveloped include council-owned land on the site of the former Churchill China works in Cobridge, and the City Waterside area at Lichfield Street and Wellington Street. Work is expected to get underway later this year, and will see 400 new homes constructed.
Access to low-cost finance will enable preparatory work to start on the sites. The costs of this initial work will be recovered once the developers sell the completed properties.
Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transportation Councillor Ruth Rosenau said: “We have been working closely on our bid with the Homes and Communities Agency and the government’s Department for Communities and Local Government for some time, and today’s announcement by the Chancellor is the result of months of hard work to reach agreement and show that we are doing more than most other councils to promote housing construction in the city.
“Creating new, high-quality housing will be essential to delivering on our plans for economic expansion and securing the right mix of housing, in the right places.
“It will also be key to ensuring that Stoke-on-Trent is a great place to live.
“Today’s announcement shows that the government has great confidence in our plans and our ability to deliver and is willing to work with us to help transform the shape of our city and make our exciting plans for the future a reality.”
