More than £2m investment for 159 affordable homes across Wakefield

The amount, totalling £2.28m, will help Wakefield District Housing (WDH) bridge a viability gap and will be taken from a pot of money, known as Section 106 commuted sums, into which developers pay a one-off contribution in lieu of onsite provision of affordable housing.

The council says providing the new homes will help ensure that Wakefield can offer a high quality-housing offer that meets residents’ needs and meets their promise to make available good quality, safe, healthy and sustainable affordable housing.

The sites to be developed are:

*Whin View Court, Havercroft

*Warren House, Pontefract

*Chantry House, Wakefield

*Former Castleford Bath Site, Castleford

Coun Denise Jeffery, Leader of Wakefield Council, said: “We are committed to accelerating the creation of more affordable housing across the district. We are already making good progress in meeting our commitment, and this investment will ensure four further sites can be delivered.

“The Chantry House scheme will re-use land that is currently vacant and will help create the proposed Kirkgate Gateway into the city centre, supporting our regeneration plans to turn the city into a culturally vibrant place to live, work and play and achieve a fairer future for all.

“The three other schemes will see the clearance of buildings that are either surplus or no longer fit for purpose and will create better and more modern neighbourhoods that our residents want and would be proud to live in.”

The council has already committed to deliver affordable housing across the district, with the progression of other sites including the former Fire Station site at Pontefract, which will be complete in February 2023 and will provide 37 new flats, the site at Farm Lane, Fitzwilliam which is expected to deliver around 90 new affordable homes was tendered out in November 2022 and the site at Pemberton Road, Castleford, which is almost complete and will provide 82 new affordable homes.

The proposal will be put to Cabinet on Tuesday, January 17.