Bradford Council will spend £12.4m building affordable houses in the district in an effort to “put its money where its mouth is”.
Rather than inner city sites, the projects will take place in Ilkley, Gilstead and the “New Bolton Woods” development between Bradford and Shipley over the next two years.
The investment is needed because of a slowdown in the housing market, which means too few homes are being built to cope with housing waiting lists.
The council decided to invest, rather than relying on private developers, as the only way to ensure the houses were actually built.
In Ilkley £3.6m has been earmarked for houses at the former Ilkley Middle School site at Valley Drive and a further £2.3 million at Moor Court.
A project at Canary Drive in Gilstead will cost £3.7m, and will focus on housing for older people. Twenty affordable homes at the Canal Road/New Bolton Woods project will cost £2.7m, and are part of a 139 house development expected to be approved by the council on Wednesday.
Bradford Council has entered a contract with the Homes And Commun-ities Agency for the programme, meaning the houses must be finished by March 2015. It will re-coup the investment through rent and selling properties within the developments.
Last month it was revealed that 21,000 families in the district were trapped on housing waiting lists.
Councillor Val Slater said: “Years ago we took the decision that the market had stalled and we needed to re-invigorate it. This is a case of us putting our money where our mouth is.”
She dismissed claims that affordable housing should only be built in inner city areas, adding: “Some people think you shouldn’t build affordable housing in greener areas or places like Ilkley. But people born in those areas want to continue living there, and a lot of the time they just can’t afford it.
“The average age of a first time buyer is in their late 30s. These are people’s sons, daughters and grandchildren and they need a chance to live in the areas they want.”
She said the council wanted to keep investing in such schemes. She said: “We want to do more, but there is a balance between doing aspirational projects like this and providing bread and butter council services.”
The first stage of the New Bolton Woods development, including the affordable homes, goes before the council’s Regulatory and Appeals Comm-ittee on Wednesday, and has been recommended for approval. It includes full permission for 26 homes, 20 affordable homes and outline permission for a further 93 homes. The estate is envisaged as being the district’s first “urban village” and could grow to up to 3,000 houses on the Canal Road corridor.