Council bidsfor cash totransformcity estate

HULL Council is preparing a 150m bid to fund a major house building programme on a city estate.

The proposals could see 500 council homes and up to 180 private homes built in the Danes and Thorpes areas of Orchard Park.

Officers have prepared an Outline Business Case (OBC) which aims to secure the funding from the Government through the Private Finance Initiative.

The proposals will be considered by the council’s cabinet on October 25.

Pauline Davis, the council’s strategic director for housing investment and renewal, said: “We received provisional approval from the Government last year for the money we need to transform the area.

“We are now seeking endorsement from council committees and cabinet to submit the OBC, which is the next step towards a new and improved Orchard Park.”

Ms Davies said residents had contributed to the plans for the estate.

“The plans for the area have been developed in conjunction with residents and stakeholders and represent the aspirations local people have for their area,” she said.

“If and when the OBC is approved by the Government it will be a real cause for celebration for local people who have fought long and hard for investment in Orchard Park.”

The future of the area’s seven blocks of multi-storey flats is also the subject of a separate report to be considered alongside the plans for regeneration under the PFI.

Members will be asked to approve proposals for a staged demolition of the blocks over a four-year period between 2011 and 2015.

The PFI provides a way of funding public infrastructure projects with private capital.