Affordable Housing on the Glen Estate

I was reviewing the file relating to the new affordable homes being built on Glen Road which will be finished later this year. This scheme, which is for affordable homes to rent and to jointly own, is one I am proud to be involved with.

The homes at this location, which are family homes with gardens, were made bigger following our request. Many new homes have tiny bedrooms and our thinking was that rooms needed to be bigger if they were to accommodate growing families. The plans had to be adjusted and we ended up with fewer units but with more living space.

The building is progressing well and the skeletons of these family homes can already be seen. They will be built to higher environmental standards than the private sector which will reduce fuel bills for families and decrease their co2 emissions.

Some of the homes are to rent - at an affordable rent. Others will be offered on a joint ownership basis where a percentage of the equity can be purchased at the start and the other part of the equity has a rent paid on it. As the owners financial position improves then they can purchase more equity until they own the whole property. The joint ownership option is an attempt to avoid speculators obtaining the properties cheaply at the start and flogging them off - at a profit - shortly after. The joint ownership option reduces this possibility and helps on to the housing ladder those whose income precludes them from obtaining a large mortgage.

The need to deliver more family homes remains a high priority for the MBI Group. Other schemes, at Morley Bottoms and Corporation Street, will aim to encourage older residents to move to more appropriate accommodation and release larger council homes they are often struggling to cope with. The Morley Bottoms Scheme may also be an option for families with older children - especially with many youngsters remaining at home until there late 20s.

We continue to look for sites in Council ownership to develop more family homes but their numbers have dwindled and we are presently unaware of any further suitable sites. We continue to look at the viability of disused garage sites but the practicality of developing such sites is often overwhelming.

We are making a dent - even if only a small one - on the housing waiting list but we will explore every options that is made available to us to bring more affordable homes to Morley.