Adur and Worthing adopt affordable homes strategy

Around 1,500 affordable homes are set to be built across the West Sussex boroughs of Adur and Worthing.

Last week, the local authorities’ joint strategic committee approved the adoption of the ‘Developing Pathways to Affordable Homes’ scheme, which will form part of the Housing Strategy for 2020-2023.

It means a combined total of 1,400 affordable homes will be built by 2025 – a minimum of 250 of which will be directly delivered by the two councils.

The move is part of the authorities’ ambition to provide a more diverse, affordable tenure type, with an emphasis on creating multiple routes to home ownership – from shared ownership through to rent to save schemes.

Both Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council believe the delivery of homes should help communities thrive, further work on sustainability and deliver new skills and jobs, as modern methods of construction are adopted.

The goals will be achieved using Council-owned sites, while continuing to support and expand support for developers and local housing providers, to bring forward suitable housing schemes of their own.

As a delivery plan, ‘Developing Pathways to Affordable Homes’ will run for four years and will help to inform the next stage of the Housing Strategy due in 2023-2024.

The councils will also be developing more extensive relationships with the private rental sector through the Opening Doors scheme, to make it easier for a wider range of people to access secure and affordable rental accommodation.

In order to tackle some of the challenges faced, the councils have already started to intervene where necessary.

This includes developing some of the first council housing in Adur for more than 30 years, such as the plans for Albion Street in Southwick, and working with delivery partners to deliver on major sites such as Union Place and Teville Gate in Worthing.

Detailed delivery plans for each council will be developed while the potential for partnerships in a range of areas is explored.

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