Mayor announces another multi-million-pound social housing investment

Mayor Richard Parker is to invest £2.6m to drive forward the construction of 108 affordable new homes in Warwickshire – the latest in a stream of developments aimed at easing the region’s housing crisis. 

The funding will see the former General Electric Power Conversion UK site in Projects Drive, Rugby regenerated for housing including 72 social rent properties – the most affordable type of housing.  

The announcement is the latest to be made by the Mayor as part of his mission to see 2,000 new social homes built every year across the region by 2028. 

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, is ramping up the construction of more social homes to help tackle the region's housing crisis

The Mayor said: “Everyone deserves a safe, warm place to call home, but we’re facing a housing crisis because of years of chronic underinvestment in social and affordable homes. 

“This has left too many families stuck in temporary accommodation or poor-quality private rents. That’s not acceptable, which is why I’m committed to building the genuinely affordable homes our communities so badly need. 

“Projects Drive is the latest example from a new wave of investment I’m making to tackle this problem. And it’s not only delivering essential homes but also helping to regenerate the local area and providing work and training opportunities – supporting my mission to get 93,000 people into quality jobs over the next decade.” 

The £26m, six-acre development is also being backed by Homes England and will feature a mix of apartments, maisonettes and houses.  

The scheme is being built by Morro Partnerships on behalf of not-for-profit housing provider, Orbit. The development comprises of 72 social rent properties and 36 homes which will be made available for shared ownership. 

It is also expected to play a key role in the regeneration of a nearby housing estate in Hollowell Way, Brownsover which has been earmarked for demolition and redevelopment by Orbit. The Projects Drive scheme offers an opportunity to rehouse some of Orbit’s existing customers from the Hollowell Way estate. 

Projects Drive will also see Morro create a number of new jobs and construction apprenticeships with recruitment focused from within a 20-mile radius of the scheme. 

The developer will work with local recruitment partners, colleges, education providers and third sector organisations to open up the training and job opportunities for hard-to-reach people such as care leavers and ex-forces personnel.  

Phil Andrew, chief executive at Orbit said: “We are proud to be working alongside Mayor Richard Parker and Morro Partnerships to deliver much-needed, quality, affordable housing in Rugby to help meet local housing needs.  

“This is the first step in an exciting long-term investment for this community that will help provide more people with good quality homes that they can afford, in a place that they are proud to live, and we look forward to getting work underway.” 

Simon Preston, managing director at Morro Partnerships, added: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Mayor and Orbit to deliver the Projects Drive development, providing 108 much-needed new homes for local families and the community.  

“This scheme demonstrates our commitment to building high-quality, sustainable housing while creating local job and apprenticeship opportunities as well as enhancing the local area through our social value initiatives.” 

The Mayor’s drive to kickstart the biggest social housing programme the region has seen in decades has secured strong backing from government in recent weeks. 

Last month Housing Secretary Steve Reed announced up to £1.7bn for the region’s ten year Social and Affordable Homes Programme starting next April. That could see at least 10,000 affordable new homes built across the West Midlands over the coming decade.  

And the Mayor’s mission to build more social housing secured a further boost in October with a new £40m Social Housing Accelerator Fund. 

The money, secured by cutting red tape surrounding his existing housing funds, will be used to convert 1,000 properties that are ready for occupation, under construction or soon-to-be-built, over to social rent homes. 

Those will be on top of over 750 social rent homes the Mayor has already unlocked since taking office in May last year as part of his ongoing ‘Homes for Everyone’ priority.