West Midlands mayor reveals £3m investment as part of affordable housing push

Of the 108 homes, 72 will be for social rent and the rest will be for shared ownership.

The £26m six-acre development is also being backed by Homes England and will feature a mix of flats, maisonettes and houses. The scheme is being built by Staffordshire-based house builder Morro Partnerships. 

Phil Andrew, group chief executive of 46,000-home Orbit, described it as “the first step in an exciting long-term investment” for the community. 

The other scheme will see the WMCA invest £450,000 to clean up a brownfield site in Wednesbury, a town in the Sandwell district of the West Midlands.

Thirty-four homes are planned across the two-acre site off Friar Park Road, which will be offered at discounted rents or through a Rent to Buy scheme.

The £7.4m development is being built by Keon Homes for 30,000-home housing association Citizen. The scheme is also being part-funded by Homes England.

Mayor Mr Parker said: “This is yet another example of how we are transforming underused or derelict sites into vibrant new places where people can afford to live and raise families.

“It’s part of my commitment to build affordable homes at a time when too many people are struggling to secure the safe, warm home they need to get ahead in life.”

In November, the government allocated £1.7bn for WMCA under the new £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme. It is hoped the funding could help build around 10,000 new homes across the West Midlands over the next decade. 

Mr Parker also announced a £40m Social Housing Accelerator Fund in October last year to convert around 1,000 properties to social rent homes.