Telford & Wrekin Council sets out plans for its housing company which includes investment in hundreds of homes
A council owned housing company is being lined up to release investments of tens of millions of pounds in around 300 new and refurbished homes.
Budget papers show that 158 new homes to be built by Nuplace will lead to the release of an already approved capital investment of £34.8 million.
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And more investment is in the pipeline.
The documents reveal that chiefs are lining up a further possible 145 homes – including a future building scheme at Station Quarter and buying other properties – which will require additional budget approvals.
Nuplace has been earmarked to receive £72.9 million of capital funds from 2025/26 to 2028-29 under the council’s budget proposals. These are also set to be approved this week.
Councillors on Thursday are due to receive an update to the authority’s housing investment programme which also includes buying and refurbishing empty homes under the banner Telford & Wrekin Homes.
At its meeting on Thursday the cabinet will be asked to consider and approve a draft Housing Investment Programme Business Plan including investment in a total of about 300 new and refurbished homes.
Officials write: “The proposed pipeline of schemes, deliverable within existing budget approvals, will bring Nuplace’s portfolio to circa 948 units, although the exact number of additional units within the pipeline can only be determined once further feasibility work has been undertaken.
“The delivery of a future scheme at Station Quarter, as well as further expansion of the Telford & Wrekin Homes programme, beyond the existing 100 home target, will require further budget allocation and as such it is recommended that further budget approvals are sought once schemes have been prioritised in response to a range of factors including viability, deliverability and impact.”
Nuplace, set up in 2015 by Telford & Wrekin Council, currently has 669 homes built with another 121 under construction.
The Labour controlled council’s cabinet is set to be told this week that new schemes will include additional accessible and downsizer homes, more low carbon homes and focus on brownfield land and the refurbishment of empty properties.
Up to 2024/25 Nuplace has generated a cumulative income of £13.8m to the council which it uses to support front line services.
It has provided 75 affordable homes, available at 80 per cent of open market rent, and is set to provide homes for more than 1,750 people.
It is the company behind complex refurbishment schemes including The Gower, a former nursery at Ketley, the redevelopment in Oakengates and the former YMCA building in Wellington.
