New council bungalows planned to help meet growing demand in Rotherham

Rotherham Council has been planning to develop some redundant sites in the suburb for some time, but recently the plans have changed, with one site dropped after being declared unsuitable for use.

However, two more sites have been identified on former garage sites at Chestnut Close, which could be used together with others at Hornbeam Close, Greenwood Crescent and Craig Walk to provide new housing.

Initially, the expectation was that Wickersley developments would provide a total of 14 new homes but the authority has responded to changes in demand, which now sees an average of 89 bids from prospective tenants for each of its bungalows which become available, more than double those for a typical house.

A report to be considered by members of the council’s ruling Cabinet states: “The demand for bungalows is significantly higher and has increased since the previous year.”

Because bungalows take up more space than houses and one site has had to be dropped, the initial expectation of providing 14 new homes would drop to six, with another four available as a result of including the Chestnut Close sites into the package.

A decision will be made later.