Affordable homes boost for Black Country

Bromford will bring almost 100 new affordable homes to the Black Country after council chiefs gave their backing to multi-million pound plans.

The Midlands and South West housing association has been given the green light to develop six acres of land across two sites in the region, bringing 93 homes for rent and shared ownership to Oldbury and Wolverhampton.

The first site in Mill Lane, which overlooks Titford Canal, has previously been labelled an ‘eyesore’ by councillors and will see 47 affordable homes built on the 2.6 acre site which was formerly a hub of industry before the previous business closed and the building demolished in 1992. The range of one and two bed apartments and two and three bed homes were recently granted permission by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council.

The second site on Springfield Road is just a mile from Wolverhampton City Centre and will see 46 two and three bed rent and shared ownership homes built on an area of overgrown land close to an existing housing estate. Planning chiefs at City of Wolverhampton Council approved the semi-detached and terraced home-development at a meeting at the end of last month.

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Bromford will invest a combined total of £14m across the two developments which will be built by their own in-house construction team. It is expected work will commence on both sites this summer.

Martyn Blackman, executive director of new homes, said: “Bromford has recently brought three organisations together in order to cement our financial strength and housebuilding capability and we are really delighted to now be able to proceed with these two exciting developments after receiving support from Sandwell and Wolverhampton councils.

“This £14m investment demonstrates our commitment to investing in the communities we serve and we know it will meet a real local demand both for affordable rented homes as well as people looking to get a first step on the property ladder through shared ownership.”

The news comes just weeks after 44,000-home landlord Bromford were named as one of Homes England’s new strategic partners, receiving an extra 66m in funding to build more new homes for social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership across its Midlands and South West operating area by March 2024.