Councillors welcomed a move to include more flats at affordable rents in a new scheme which is taking shape in Hove.
Hyde Housing is building just over a hundred homes on the site of the Westerman Complex, in School Road, Hove, where generations of children went to Westows soft play centre.
Hyde applied to Brighton and Hove City Council for planning permission for a different mix of homes to the mix originally approved.
The result is that more homes will be available to rent for an “affordable” amount and fewer homes will be in shared ownership.
The council’s Planning Committee unanimously backed the proposed changes at a meeting at Hove Town Hall yesterday (Wednesday 10 August).
Hyde, one of the main housing associations operating in Brighton and Hove, wants to increase the number of one-bed homes from seven to 14 – all for affordable rent.
Ten two-bedroom homes can also be made available for affordable rent along with a three-bedroom property.
Conservative councillor Carol Theobald said: “I’m very pleased that we’re going to have another 104 new homes. I hope the ones that are not ‘affordable’ are still affordable to people.”
Labour councillor Carmen Appich said: “This is right next to the boundary of my ward and I’m very pleased there’s going to be an opportunity for local people to be able to rent property at affordable rates.
“It’s not the same as social housing but it is better than open market and I thoroughly welcome this proposal.”
All the homes in the scheme are classed as “affordable”, with 16 of them available for shared ownership on a site that also previously housed Cliffords car parts premises.
“Affordable” rents are defined as no more than the local housing allowance or 80 per cent of the local market rate for a comparable property.
Could we just recap on what ‘affordable rent’ is, in B&H councilspeak?
This site has information on the local housing allowance which is the rate used in this case as mentioned in the story.
https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/benefits/housing-benefit-universal-credit-and-council-tax-reduction/weekly-housing-benefit-rates
Hi , my wife and I both work full time for the NHS and have just been told by our landlady that she is planning on selling the place we live in in the next 18 months . We are absolutely devastated as we love where we live and have lived here for over 8 years. We are now looking for affordable housing and still within Brighton and Hove , so we can still do the jobs we love. How do we apply for affordable housing as there is no way we could afford to buy in this current situation.