Go ahead given for more social-rent housing
A building contractor is to be appointed for a new £3.7 million social-rent housing development in the Batchwood area of St Albans.
St Albans City and District Council is developing a site off Woollam Crescent that was previously known as The Hedges.
The plan is for 14 new social-rent housing properties for people on the Council’s housing register.
A report on progress with the project was given to a meeting of the Council’s Cabinet on Tuesday 21 July.
Councillors were told feedback from a consultation with residents about the housing designs had been positive.
A planning application was submitted last month and a decision is expected in September.
Cabinet agreed that the building contract could now go out to tender with a view to work starting in December and being completed a year later.
Councillor Jacqui Taylor, Portfolio Holder for Housing, Inclusion and Protection, said after the meeting: “I am delighted that this project is moving along at pace.
“We are committed to increasing the amount of much-needed social-rent housing available in the District and this development is proof of that.
“Our designs met with a favourable response from residents and we have already submitted a planning application. We can now move swiftly on to the next stage by securing a building contractor.”
The site currently consists of ten temporary accommodation, mobile properties that were for people on the housing register waiting for a permanent home. These are no longer fit for purpose and are not of the standard wanted for residents.
They will be demolished to make way for the new modern homes that will provide permanent accommodation.
The plans are for six family-sized, semi-detached houses at the front of the plot, each with three bedrooms and a back garden.
It is intended that they will blend in with existing properties on Woollam Crescent with the design and building materials in keeping with nearby homes.
To the rear of the site, there will be a new apartment building that will include four one-bedroom flats and four two-bedroom ones.
Each ground floor flat will have its own outdoor space while there will also be a communal garden for all to use.
In keeping with the Council’s commitment to tackling climate change and reducing harmful emissions, the houses and flats will be fitted with solar panels to provide renewable energy.
Picture: How the new homes, facing onto Woollam Crescent, might look.
Councillor Contact: Councillor Jacqui Taylor, Portfolio Holder for Housing, Inclusion and Protection for St Albans City and District Council: cllr.j.taylor@stalbans.gov.uk; 07971 906343.
Media contact:
John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer, St Albans City and District Council: 01727- 819533; john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk.