Over 100 new homes to built in Barnsley

Some of the homes to be built will be sold on the open market to help fund ‘social housing’ schemes while some retirement flats will be rented out at commercial rates outside the umbrella of council housing.

That also means then flats, which will sit alongside a similar development by McCarthy and Stone in Berneslai Close, near the old Beckett Hospital site, will not qualify for ‘right to buy’ purchases.

Coun Chris Lamb told colleagues on the council’s ruling Cabinet, which approved all three projects: “They are very much high quality builds, very much at the forefront of energy efficiency.

“This is something we should be celebrating and very proud we can bring to the Cabinet.

“This will set the standard for the building programme going forward and will set a good example for others in the housing market, looking to build in the borough.”

Profits from renting out the nine units will be available to bolster further work to increase social housing in the town.

A further scheme on council owned land off St Michael’s Avenue in Monk Bretton will see a combination of houses, flats and bungalows go up.

Some will be rented in the traditional way but others will be sold to help finance the council’s housing work.

It is stressed that such projects are moved forwards only on sites where there is no interest from private sector developers and the scheme follows on from a successful new estate off Racecommon Road in Longcar, where around 30 homes were built and sold by the council.

That project is now up for an award from the Local Government Chronicle.

The third scheme will put new two and three bedroomed council houses on a site at Billingley View, Bolton on Dearne.

Like all new council developments, they will be low carbon properties, relying on technology like air source heat pumps and solar panels with battery storage rather than mains gas.