Council sets out £100m plans to 'invest and expand' housing provision
A council is proposing to spend £100 million in the next four years on ‘investing and expanding’ its housing provision in the borough.
Telford & Wrekin Council has outlined £420m in its medium-term capital investment programme between 2024 and 2028.
However, the council said: “The scope for additional ongoing revenue investments next year is limited, as further investments in other priorities would require more budget savings to be identified."
The outlined capital programme includes over £100m investment to expand Nuplace and Telford & Wrekin Homes. The council says this will ‘provide further high-quality homes for local people to rent from a responsible and responsive landlord'.
Nuplace was created by the council in 2015 with £132.9m allocated. Against the £66.8m of that invested to March 2023 the council states that its Nuplace portfolio has a capital value of £86.7m.
The scheme has built 485 homes, with a further 359 planned or in delivery, bringing the portfolio to 844 homes.
A further £3.3m has been allocated to sites in development and £66.1m remains unallocated for future schemes.
The housing portfolio generates a monthly gross income of approximately £340,000. Since 2015/16, the council states that Nuplace has delivered a cumulative profit before tax of £3.5m.
“NuPlace has enabled brownfield sites to be brought back into use and investment in the Property Investment Portfolio (PIP) to attract and retain jobs for local people and to provide other regeneration benefits for our residents,” says a report to be considered by the council’s cabinet on Thursday.
“An ancillary consequence of both these investments is that it is anticipated they will bring long term capital growth which will strengthen the council’s balance sheet as well as generating revenue returns well in excess of the associated loan repayment charges.
“They will also bring other direct and indirect financial and other benefits to the residents of the borough including additional income from council tax, business rates and new homes bonus which will be used to help front line services such as adult social care, as well as protecting and creating jobs for local people.”
Through the Nuplace programme 99 homes are currently being built across three different sites.
Wild Walk Muxton, off Donnington Wood Way, will comprise of 66 homes as part of a wider development and 18 of these will be specifically for people with a range of mobility issues.
There are also homes being built at The Gower in St Georges and the New College site in Wellington.
Planning permission has been approved for a further 155 new homes, including 117 homes at the new Station Quarter development in Telford.
The former Abacus Nursery at Ketley Bank will provide 21 new homes and 10 homes will be created in the Oakengates Theatre Quarter development.
A planning application has also been submitted for refurbishment works to 1 Walker Street in Wellington, which will see nine flats created in the historic building.
The proposed £420m capital programme includes: £65m to support the council’s Growth Fund initiatives to bring new employment opportunities to the borough; a new £20m capital projects fund; over £31m for transport and highways schemes; and over £40m for education capital projects including investment in school expansion projects to increase pupil places.
“The council has sought to offset part of the loss of Government grant by generating income by adopting a more commercial approach to many existing services,” adds the report to councillors.
“We have sought to ensure that this approach spreads fixed costs, maximises use of any spare capacity and where possible brings environmental, social, or economic benefits to our residents.
“The profit is used to help reduce the amount of cuts that we would otherwise have to make to the front-line services that the council provides to our community.
“The proposed package of capital investments will bring significant benefits to the borough.”
