More than £2m to be invested in Wakefield affordable housing plan

Wakefield Council made a commitment in November 2021 to enable the delivery of public rented sector homes and to directly influence and accelerate the creation of new, affordable homes across the district.

As part of that commitment, the latest project is moving forward with £2.29m of funding recently agreed.

It will enable WDH to meet the viability gap to develop four sites at Whin View Court at Havercroft, Warren House at Pontefract, Chantry House in Wakefield and the former Castleford Bath Site, Castleford, to create 160 new homes for district residents.

The council say the new homes will help ensure that Wakefield can offer a high quality-housing offer that meets residents’ needs as well as strengthening its promise to make available good quality, safe, healthy and sustainable affordable housing.

A number of sites for 100% affordable homes have been allocated by the council to boost the number of new affordable homes across the district, some of which will be allocated for specialist homes, meaning more vulnerable and disabled residents across the district will be able to access the homes they need.

Coun Denise Jeffery, Leader of Wakefield Council said: “I’ve made a firm commitment to enable the delivery of public rented sector housing, and affordable housing, in order to meet unmet housing needs and give people in our district more choice.

"Agreeing the funding is a very positive step and we are pleased to be working with WDH to deliver on our commitment to affordable housing and to deliver the good quality homes that people need.”

The council say that although the district’s annual housebuilding targets are achieved each year there has been a shortfall in the number of new affordable homes being built, and working with WDH will help to address this.

Sue Young, Executive Director of Investment at WDH, said: “We have ambitious plans to deliver high quality homes for the people that need them in the places where they want to live and it’s great to have support from Wakefield Council to help us to deliver that.

"We’re looking forward to progressing these developments, providing more homes and continuing to create confident communities across the Wakefield district.”

The funding, totalling £2.29m, will help WDH bridge the viability gaps for each scheme and will be taken from a pot of money, known as Section 106 commuted sums, into which developers pay a one-off contribution in lieu of onsite provision of affordable housing. The grant, approved by senior councillors at Cabinet, means that the project can now start to move forward.

The Chantry House scheme will re-use land that is currently vacant and will help create the proposed Kirkgate Gateway into the city centre, supporting the council’s regeneration plans to turn the city into a culturally vibrant place to live, work and play and achieve a fairer future for all.

The three other schemes will see the clearance of buildings that are either surplus or no longer fit for purpose to create better and more modern neighbourhoods.