Work starts on first new council homes

WORK has started on the first new council houses to be built inBarnsley for almost 30 years.

Barnsley Council and Berneslai Homes have secured government funding to build 16 new two-bedroomed apartments at Vernon Crescent in Ward Green.

This is the first of five newly-approved housing schemes planned in the town, which will together see 78 new council homes being built over the next year at a cost of 4.8m.

The grant money has come from the government's Local Authority

Challenge Fund initiative, which was designed to stimulate the construction industry during the economic downturn.

Councillor Bill Newman, Barnsley Council's cabinet spokesman for development, said the government funding was "great news for the people of Barnsley" and would "complement our drive to provide high-quality affordable housing across the borough."

Yesterday an event was held at Vernon Crescent to mark the beginning of work on site, which was attended by the leader of Barnsley Council, Coun Stephen Houghton, the borough's mayor, Coun John Parkinson, and representatives from Berneslai Homes and the contractor, PDR Construction. A date stone was unveiled, which will be built into the gable of the new apartments.