Affordable homes given £2m boost

MORE than £2 million of Government funding will be pumped into building new affordable properties in Oldham, is has been announced.

First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) has said it plans to build 48 homes in the next three years within the borough.

It comes as work was completed on 12 further homes, less than a year after the housing association took over the borough’s council properties in February, 2011.

The environmentally-friendly houses, that boast solar panels and rainwater harvesting, were built with the help of £806,000 from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), that distributes capital funding.

Three have been built in Rufford Close in Shaw while four have been completed in Clyde Street in Watersheddings

Two have also been constructed on Byland Avenue in Alt and three in Hawthorn Road in Oldham.

FCHO chief executive Cath Green said: “It is a very proud day for us to be able to unveil our first ever new-build houses as a registered social landlord.

“Now we are looking forward to handing over the keys to families looking for a home.

“We have always said that we wanted to hit the ground running and make a big investment to improve housing for residents across the borough.

“These new properties are great news for the area, and this is just the beginning of our plans, with more homes earmarked to be built over the next three years.”

A further £1.2 million of funding has already been pledged to support building projects in Burnley Lane in Chadderton and Huddersfield Road, Oldham. Work will also start in Coleridge Road in Sholver, Milne Street in Werneth and Crompton Street in Royton over the next three years — totalling 48 homes.

The ambitious scheme is step forward for the borough where, up until in 2009, no new council homes had been built for two decades.

Deborah McLaughlin, HCA North-West executive director, said: “The completion of these much-needed new affordable homes is a major achievement for recently-formed First Choice Homes and reinforces both their and our commitment to improving housing provision for local people.

“This marks the beginning of some exciting plans for the area and I look forward to working with partners on the next phase of the development to deliver quality homes that meet local ambitions.”