Milton Keynes Council to build dozens of new houses to rent

Dozens of new council houses are to be built as part of a £54m investment in housing stock.

MK Council plans to build 76 homes in Wolverton, Conniburrow and Fishermead.

The locations include Cotsfoot Place, Franklins Croft, Kellen Drive and Germander Place.

On top of this, the council is buying around 40 existing properties that are dotted around MK, planning to convert them for its own use.

The plan is part of a major investment that will also see £8m spent on providing new roofs and windows for many current council homes.

More cash will be spent on improving blocks of council owned flats – including an extra £1m on fire safety following the Grenfell Tower disaster.

But the biggest chunk of money – more than £18m – will be spent on the city’s regeneration programme for rundown estates. This is due to start soon in Fullers Slade.

All the money comes from the council’s own funds and capital receipts.

Cabinet member for housing Nigel Long said: “The council is strongly committed to improving the 14,000 homes it owns. We are also committed to building and acquiring new homes.

“But there is so much more to do. We need the freedom to borrow to invest. If the government removed the cap on our ability to borrow we would invest millions more.”

The housing spend totals £53.992m. Almost half of this comes from the council’s revenue contributions, while £18.7m is from the major repairs allowance fund.

The biggest new build scheme will be at Franklin Croft in Wolverton. Here MK Council plans to spend £916,860 on new houses to rent to future tenants.

A smaller portion – £5.76m – will come from the council’s capital receipts. This is money generated by selling off assets such as houses under the right to buy scheme.