Building boom as record housebuilding revealed in Doncaster

STOCK:  housing.STOCK:  housing.
STOCK: housing.
The number of homes being built in Doncaster is the highest for 15 years, according to new figures.

Doncaster Council’s finance and performance improvement report reveals more than 1,000 homes, including council and private, were built across the borough in the last year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Of the 1,170 houses built in 2015/16, only 161 were classed as affordable homes – although the figure was eight more than the target of 153.

The overall number is an increase of 51 per cent when compared to the previous year, when 772 homes were built.

Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones, who has previously said one of her priorities is to create more housing in the borough, welcomed the statistics.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It’s good to see the number of houses being built is increasing – we know we need more housing,” she said.

Doncaster Council director of regeneration and environment Peter Dale said the authority was ‘determined’ to meet the town’s housing need.

He said: “With the number of regeneration and development projects happening in Doncaster, it’s very important that we deliver appropriate housing to meet existing demand but also for our growing workforce.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“As the cabinet report shows, the number of new houses currently being built in Doncaster is the highest for 15 years, and reflects our determination to support the building of new homes.

“Developments like Kingsway in Stainforth will deliver 170 homes, while housing projects like Heatherfields and Belle Vue are also transforming sites such as the former Rossington colliery and the old site of Doncaster Rovers.”

Don Valley MP Caroline Flint said she hoped Doncaster learned the lessons from some housing developments built in recent decades, and believed the borough must a have a variety of homes, including affordable homes, and a good mix of homes for older people.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She also believes every home should have room for at least two cars as people in Doncaster need cars to access jobs and young couples will often have two cars not one.

She said: “This obvious feature of modern homes has been overlooked in recent years.”

She added: “As people live longer, more people live alone and our population grows, I welcome the great work of Ros Jones and her team to get new homes built across the borough. It is clear that we have enough land that can be developed without eating into Doncaster’s green belt and without merging outlying villages with the urban centre. We can have thousands of new homes and still value our green spaces.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The first homes are currently being built on the site of the former Rossington colliery. Around 160 of the planned 1,200 houses homes are to built over the next two years on the former pit site on West End Lane, New Rossington.

The Harworth Estates development will also include a hotel, restaurant, fast food outlet, petrol station and community building.

Another developer, Taylor Wimpey, will also build 96 homes on the site.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The council is also waiting for a legal agreement to be signed before it can begin building work on a 3,000 home scheme given the go-ahead in December.

The Unity project, which faced objection from some residents, includes houses being built on land in Stainforth, Hatfield and Dunscroft, a new community facilities, shops and industrial developments.

The latest housing figure is also more than double the council’s yearly target, which was set out last year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In 2015, the authority published a Housing Need Assessment, which included information about the population, household projections, and the future housing need of residents. It said at least 582 additional homes would be built annually until 2032 – meaning 9,894 houses would be developed over the 17 year period.

At the time the report was written, there were 130,165 houses in the whole of Doncaster, with 43 per cent in the DN1 to DN5 postcode areas – where the need is greatest.