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Two Plymouth development sites that had been abandoned for a decade after a number of failed attempts to build housing on them have been sold after the local council intervened.
Plymouth Council bought the land at Prince Maurice Road in Lipson and the site of the former Whitleigh Community Centre in 2016 and took steps to make them ready for development.
They have now been sold to G2 Housing Group, which plans to build 126 homes over the two sites.
Chris Penberthy, cabinet member for housing and co-operative development at Plymouth Council, said: “It is very pleasing to finally see progress on these two challenging development sites.”
Hampshire-based G2 Housing Group said that 71 of the homes developed on the sites will be marketed as Starter Homes, aimed at first-time buyers and sold at a 20% discount to local market values.
The land at Prince Maurice Road has been abandoned for more than 10 years after a number of developers tried to build on the site but have failed to make it financially viable because of high costs. The fact that the site was on a steep slope had proved particularly problematic.
Plymouth Council will make upgrades to nearby traffic light systems to help the site become viable.
Whitleigh Community Centre closed in 2008 and the council stepped in to demolish the building in 2016, before preparing the site for construction.
Work on the homes will begin later this year.