Witney News - £390,000 boost for affordable housing

£390,000 boost for affordable housing

Grants worth £390,000 to help pay the cost of providing 56 affordable new homes in West Oxfordshire were agreed in principle at the Council's Cabinet meeting today.

Subject to agreement by the full Council when it next meets £350,000 will go to Oxford Citizens Housing Association for 48 homes for rent or shared ownership being built at Dark Lane, Witney.

A grant of £40,000 will meanwhile go to the Home Group as a contribution towards the cost of 8 affordable homes at Ducklington Mill.

The rest of the money the two registered social landlords need to fund these much-in-demand properties will come from the government-backed Housing Corporation.

"We are doing all we can to increase the proportion of affordable housing in a district where prices on the open market remain some of the highest anywhere in the UK," says Cllr Jill Dunsmore, Cabinet Member for Housing.

"I hope the decision to award the grants will come as very welcome news for people on lower incomes who find it so hard to get a foot on the housing ladder locally."

"The developments at Witney and Ducklington are absolutely vital as we strive to meet our challenging target of at least 340 affordable new homes across the District in the three years to April 2010."

At Dark Lane, the affordable homes under construction by David Wilson Homes and Persimmon take in 29 units for rent, 11 for shared ownership and 8 for sale at a discount on market prices. The Ducklington Mill development by Banner Homes will comprise 26 units with 6 for rent and 2 for shared ownership.

Domestic property prices on the open market across West Oxfordshire averaged £400,000 for a detached house, £234, 000 for a semi, £225,000 for a terraced property and £177,000 for a flat at the end of June according to H.M Land Registry.