More homes built as council nears 1,000 target

Rotherham Council has started work on 31 council properties as it heads towards its target of 1,000 new homes by summer 2027.

The two, three and four-bed houses and apartments at York Road and Netherfield Court in Eastwood were announced as a council report said it had delivered 808 homes by the end of May.

They are allocated to those who have lived or worked locally for at least three of the last four years, with exceptions for people including military veterans and domestic violence victims.

Councillor Linda Beresford said: "It's fantastic to see work now under way on these 31 new council homes in Eastwood, which will provide much-needed, high-quality homes for local people."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Rotherham Council was achieving its housing target by building homes on council-owned sites, acquiring homes from small and medium-sized enterprises and developers, and through buying homes in the open market.

It said 670 of the properties already delivered were to rent and 138 were shared ownership homes.

The Council Homes Housing Delivery Programme report details a number of projects to deliver its new-build aims, including the conversion of Hurley Croft Neighbourhood Centre in Brampton Bierlow into residential accommodation and 38 new homes across sites in Wath and at Tenter Street in Thornhill.

The report said the council's capacity to respond to demand had been reduced by the Right to Buy scheme, with 1,376 council homes sold between January 2018 and the end of May 2026.

It said 4,800 households were registered for council housing and actively bidding on properties.

The current target of 1,000 homes would be 376 short of the amount of properties sold off.

The Eastwood development follows groundbreaking on 28 properties on Denman Road, Bushfield Road and Valley Drive in Wath.

Beresford, cabinet member for housing, said the Eastwood project was "another important step" towards its commitment to deliver 1,000 homes, "helping ensure residents across Rotherham have access to safe, affordable housing".

"We are clear that these homes will be allocated fairly to those who need them most, supported by the changes we've made to our Housing Register so we can prioritise local people in genuine need," she said.

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