CIVIC chiefs could be allowed to borrow more than £52 million to help with house-building if a bid is approved.

Winchester City Council has asked the government for additional borrowing permissions that would give it one of the largest caps outside London.

The announcement from council leader Cllr Caroline Horrill follows a government decision to scrap the cap on council borrowing against its social housing stock.

It could mean a huge boost to the provision of new council homes by an authority with a track record of building new homes.

However, Cllr Horrill said: “It is not clear whether the latest announcement replaces the ‘bidding programme’, but the very welcome news received last week that the HRA debt cap had finally been lifted means we can now plan for the future with certainty rather than rely on a competitive bidding process.

“Officers will now review the new build plans in light of the latest announcement and recommend a revised programme for approval as part of the detailed business plan due to be considered by council in February 2019.”

As previously reported, Cllr Horrill pledged in August to increase the city council’s affordable-house building programme. The authority now aims to build 600 new homes by 2021.

Speaking at the time, she said: “It is the right thing to do in an area with high property prices and it’s fair to the younger generation who feel they can’t get on the housing ladder.”