City’s first council homes in 20 years

York Council is overseeing the £2.5m scheme to build the 19 environmentally-friendly properties at a site off Lilbourne Drive in the Clifton district of the city.

All of the homes will be available for social rent and include nine, two-bedroom and 10 three-bedroom properties, which will be owned and managed by the authority.

York Council’s cabinet member for health, housing and adult social services, Coun Simpson-Laing, said: “This is a momentous occasion for York. We are committed to leading by example in Yorkshire and delivering much needed council housing to very high eco standards.

“The quality of this development is clear for all to see and we’re looking forward to the completion of the first homes in spring 2012.”

The new houses are being built by the developers, Lovell, and will include photovoltaic solar panels and high levels of insulation that will dramatically cut running costs for tenants.

The development will help alleviate the need for affordable housing in the city as latest figures from the National Housing Federation have revealed that the average cost of a property in York is £202,823 while the average wage is only £19,812.

There are 7,900 council-owned homes in York, including sheltered housing, hostels and bedsits, as well as houses, flats and bungalows. But at the end of the last financial year, there were more than 3,300 households on the authority’s waiting lists, including 600 existing tenants wishing to transfer to another council property.

A total of £1.12m in funding has been secured from the Government, while the remainder will be provided by the council and re-paid over a 30-year period from rental income in the new homes.