While many councils struggle financially to build new council housing – Lancaster City Council is one of very few that is determined to do so and to increase the supply of affordable housing.
Led by the Greens, the City Council is making good progress to build completely new housing to be owned and run by the council, and has :
- purchased the former Skerton school site from the County Council
- been successful in getting Brownfield Release Funding which funded the clearing of the site
- listened to residents and designed the new build to be safer and more child friendly
- successfully got planning permission for 100 apartment homes and 35 terraced houses on the site
- ensured Mainway residents have ongoing information and support from the My Mainway Hub on Owen Road.
We intend that all the new housing will be within the Council’s ‘housing revenue account’, but this is dependent on top up funding for affordable housing from the Government. The Council is preparing its application for that top up funding with Homes England – now that the Government has re-opened applications to a new pot of £2bn which is top up for affordable homes available from this summer 2025.
Meanwhile, also pushed by the Greens, work is underway to develop a business case for replacing the rest of the homes on Mainway which are nearing the end of their ‘useful life’.
The challenges:
- Councils must borrow money to build new council homes and the ‘business case’ must stack up over a 50 year period (it would be helpful if this were longer period).
- Legally the council cannot subsidise its Housing Revenue Account with funding from elsewhere (to be honest there is little other funding available from other budgets within the council.)
- The rental income from council housing is low because rents are genuinely affordable, and therefore there is a need for the build costs to be subsidised.
- Government funding was unavailable to us until recently however, applications for affordable homes top up funding has recently been re-opened.
- By comparison new private housing developers are typically ‘required’ to build 20-40% affordable units. Unfortunately this requirement is often removed or reduced because developers can argue ‘viability’ is not achievable.
The Mainway estate previously provided 237 council homes and the aim is to ensure at least that number is maintained in the council’s own stock as redevelopment takes place.
The Council has released land on Nelson St for more affordable rented accommodation to be provided by a housing association.
The Council will have to work with registered providers (Housing Associations) and other partners to make more affordable homes available, including on the Canal Quarter site.
The Greens are also pushing for accommodation to be more affordable to live in, with low energy bills, so is aiming for high levels of energy efficiency in all new homes.
