Barnsley Council on track to meet house building target

Councillor Tim Cheetham, cabinet spokesperson for regeneration and culture told today’s cabinet meeting that 167 new homes were delivered in quarter three of the financial year, which runs from June to September.

Coun Cheetham added that 52 homes have been improved under the affordable warmth project in the quarter, and 133 in total.

Councillor Sharon Howard told the meeting: “The new homes that’s been built…they actually nowhere near touch the council house waiting list.

“I know there’s some builds to come on board, a lot of people are trapped in private landlord accommodation. It’s really important that we carry on with the programme.”

Coun Cheetham added: “It really felt like we were on the verge of an explosion in development – we’ve certainly got big plans for development.”

He added that despite “huge increases in material costs”, the council is still “very much on target for development for the next 12 to 18 months.”

Barnsley’s Local Plan, adopted in 2019, has an annual target of 1,134 homes, which equates to 21,546 over the lifetime of the plan until 2033.

According to council documents, 453 new homes were build in quarters one, two and three in total, which covers the time between January and September 2021.