A council has gained an award for providing hundreds of affordable homes.
Cheshire West and Chester has won recognition for meeting the housing needs of the community by building more lower cost dwellings on its own land.
Its work to provide affordable homes for residents in the borough was recognised at the first Northern Housing Awards when it won the Development Programme Award, one of 19 categories.
The move has seen a decision by councillors and work by officials to oversee hundreds of council houses for rent, shared ownership and houses for sale on the open market.
The council says it will have created 1,700 new homes across the borough by 2022 on council land, with 400 already completed.
Of these 814 new homes will be built as part of mixed tenure housing schemes before the end of 2019, with 422 of being affordable. Up to 230 of the new homes will be council houses.
By 2022, 900 more homes will be built, including 500 homes for sale, around 100 starter homes and 300 homes available to rent at an affordable price.
Borough housing chief Angela Claydon (Lab) said: “The council is delighted to win the first Development Programme Award at the first Northern Housing Awards.
“It is recognition for the fantastic work our teams are doing to increase the supply of affordable housing in our borough.
“In a climate where house prices are rising steadily it is important that our residents are able to find affordable accommodation.
“We are working to build more council housing and provide an appropriate mix of homes to meet the needs of people in the borough and are prioritising the development of affordable and low cost rental properties.”
Cheshire West & Chester Council round-up
She added: “The rents for new council houses are typically less than private sector rents.
“For example the rent of a new two bedroom council house in Ellesmere Port is £512 per month whereas a private market rent for a similar property is £640 per month.”
