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New homes for Stafford under Affordable Housing Programme (20 January 2014)

Date: 20/01/2014
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, New homes for Stafford under Affordable Housing Programme

Social housing landlord Aspire Housing has bought 54 former RAF homes in Staffordshire, with the aim of turning them into affordable homes.

Aspire Housing already manages 9,000 homes and bought the former RAF homes in Beaconside from private property company Annington Homes, which was previously letting them as student accommodation to Staffordshire University.

Work is due to begin in March and it is anticipated the affordable homes will be ready for occupation in the spring.

Aspire homes are refurbished and rented out as affordable housing under the Homes and Communities Agency’s affordable homes scheme, InsideHousing.co.uk reports.

The scheme is run by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) in a programme funded by the government to increase the number of affordable homes for rent across England – the current four-year Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) runs until 2015, when the General Election takes place in May.

The government set aside a total of £4.5bn to provide more affordable homes under the scheme. The latest phase of the scheme launched in February 2013 when details of how housing providers could bid for a share of £225m to provide affordable housing were made public.

Aspire’s group chief executive Sinéad Butters said the development was the company’s first affordable housing project in Stafford:

“It is very unusual for large groups of properties to come to market in this way, so this is a great starting point to establish our presence in the town.

“The refurbishment and maintenance work will create a variety of training and learning opportunities, so we will be helping young people from Stafford into jobs.”

Ms Butters added that PM Training – a social enterprise project which offers apprenticeships, traineeships and pre-apprenticeship study programmes to young people – was already well established in Stafford.

Stafford Council cabinet member for planning and regeneration, Frances Beatty, said:
“It is great to hear that the properties will be having major refurbishment before coming on to the rental market – and good news for many local families looking for suitable homes.”

Lack of affordable housing has been blamed for a rise in rents in the private sector – and overseas investment in the UK property market has resulted in many properties being bought as buy-to-let concerns, with high rents which families and low-income wage earners cannot afford.

Research for homeless charity Shelter last year also found that many rental tenants were paying for repairs to poorly maintained rented homes themselves, rather than risk a confrontation with a landlord and possible eviction.
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