A fresh £12m grant has been awarded by Homes England to Sheffield City Council as the Newstead Estate project begins to take shape.
Work has begun at the site just off Birley Moor Road, as the council aims to build or acquire 1,000 new council homes by 2029. The Newstead development will see a total of 41 homes and 36 flats built as part of the Council House Stock Increase program.
The Council successfully bid for further government support after they announced it was setting aside £255 million for the project.
Eamonn Boylan, Chief Executive of Homes England, said: “Understanding the needs of local communities is vital and we’re delighted to be supporting Sheffield City Council to achieve their ambitions.”
Peak Architects have been assigned to deliver the zero-gas housing which they say will reduce energy bills with its high thermal performance, which falls in line with the council’s goal to reduce housing carbon emissions to zero by 2034.
The two, three and four bed houses will have off-street parking and gardens, with the one and two bed apartments having communal gardens and balconies.
However, Sheffield City Council say they cannot yet make predictions about rent costs.
Leigh Sanders, communications officer for regeneration, said: “Inflation makes this a fairly moving figure year to year; we don’t know what rent costs will be when construction is finished.”
The waiting list for council housing has now reached over 26,400, with over 8,000 joining in 2024, all who are bidding on the city’s 38,500 council homes.
Mr Sanders said: “We are currently consulting on changes to the policies to allocate council houses to make this fairer for existing and prospective tenants.”
The consultation is expected to conclude in December 2025.
Depending on the level of urgency, those with an assessed housing need are placed in Bands A to C, with those without a recognised need being placed in Bands D or E.
The number of households that were awarded a priority need for social housing has doubled since before the COVID-19 pandemic, as has the waiting time for a priority award from 3 to 7 months.
It is hoped that the new council homes help ease a worsening national picture that is the social housing crisis.
