TRAFFORD Council is to create a new fund worth just over £1.5m to stimulate the development of more homes as part of an affordable housing initiative.
The Council is to establish a Trafford Affordable Housing Fund as part of its efforts to address the lack of affordable housing in the borough in partnership with Registered Providers who build new homes for social rent.
The Council’s Executive Committee approved the establishment of the Fund at its meeting last night (17th September) to help address the significant affordability issues that the borough faces; exemplified by high average house prices, high average monthly rents of £750 per month and rising, and a lack of affordable housing overall with Trafford home to only five percent of the total stock of affordable homes in Greater Manchester.
Cllr Andrew Western, Leader of Trafford Council said: “Trafford, like many other areas, desperately needs new homes that people can afford to live in. We have a massive gap between average wages and average property prices. Many people who were born and raised in the borough can no longer afford to live here either in rented property or in a home of their own and we need to address this.
“I am committed to making more homes available to Trafford residents that they can realistically afford. This new Fund will see us working with our registered providers to build much needed new homes with our priority being for them to be available for social rent. They will also be allocated to residents who are already on our waiting list.”
The proposed Fund will be financed from S106 monies ring-fenced for affordable housing and will be a key plank of the Council’s recently adopted Housing Strategy 2018-2023.
The Council will now proactively seek bids from Registered Providers for new social rented housing schemes.
Posted on Tuesday 18th September 2018