A MAJOR housing scheme to create more than 70 homes in Stanmore has been given a £3.2m boost.

Winchester City Council has received the financial input after Homes England approved the government grant.

The money will go towards the council’s £15.735m plan for 76 council homes at The Valley in Stanmore.

The news follows the council’s decision to join the Wayfarer Consortium – a move that gives it more access to government money to build affordable housing.

Winchester City Council leader and portfolio holder for housing Caroline Horrill said: “This government money is most welcome, makes The Valley scheme financially viable and means the council can build much-needed homes for local people.

“It also shows that being part of the Wayfarer Consortium is already bearing fruit and the strategy to fund our ambitious target of building 600 new homes by 2020 is really working.”

Commenting on joining the Wayfarer Consortium, Cllr Horrill added: “We have made a commitment to build more affordable homes across the district, so joining this consortium and gaining access to Homes England money is a positive step forward.

“There is no doubt we must look at all options available to us to achieve our target and we must also be innovative in how we do it. Joining Wayfarer is part of that process and we look forward to it bearing fruit.”

Work on The Valley is due to start next year after planning permission was unanimously granted in July 2017.

Full planning consent was granted for 67 properties, with nine more approved via outline consent after the final details of this element of the scheme were negotiated with third party land owners.

According to the latest housing committee report, published in October, the scheme aims to create a mix of 24 one-bed, 12 two-bed and three three-bed rented flats, two of which will be shared; 11 two-bed and two three-bed rented houses; one three-bed rented bungalow; six one-bed and 17 two-bed shared ownership flats.

The report adds that the council’s new build programme has £9.5m allocated to this project between 2017/18 and 2020/21, although the housing revenue account (HRA) business plan allows for a further £9.6m of unallocated funds for new build schemes for the same period.

As previously reported, some councillors had voiced concerns about whether the scheme represented value for money.