COVENTRY families could be set to benefit from 250 new affordable homes in the city centre.
Councillors will meet next month to consider a joint partnership project between Coventry City Council and Whitefriars Housing.
It is hoped the union will pave the way for more family homes to be built on unused areas of land or vacant garage sites.
The move comes after councillors promised, earlier this year, to address the lack of homes available for families in the city at the right price.
The new partnership would allow the Council to play a role in making more high-quality family homes available for people having difficulty in finding affordable accommodation.
Under the new partnership, the Council and Whitefriars will look at sites where they have neighbouring areas of land, or areas which offer little hope of development.
Whitefriars would then buy the Council sites at market value before going on to build around 130 new homes on them.
The housing group also owns 26 garage sites which could provide space for a further 120 properties.
If the cabinet agree representatives from the Council and Whitefriars will form a joint board which will look at all new development plans and make sure they are suitable.
Whitefriars would then submit a planning application and enter into an agreement to buy the land.
Coun Kevin Maton, who is responsible for business, enterprise and employment, said: “I and others have said for sometime there is a real housing need in the city, especially for families, and this partnership will really help to make a difference.
“We want local housing solutions to provide for local people and this will create quality, affordable homes in areas that need it.”
Kevin Rodgers, Whitefriars’s chief executive, said the shortage of high quality, affordable family homes was a very real issue in Coventry and across Warwickshire and the West Midlands.
“This new partnership is a great chance for us to deliver more affordable homes in the city and build upon a long history of successful joint working with the Council,” he added.
“This is a great example of the type of creative solutions that are needed in a tough financial climate for councils and housing associations.”
Coun Ann Lucas, leader of Coventry City Council said: “We said we would look to see how we could begin to tackle the issue of getting more affordable homes built in the city.
“And this is the start of the solution as we work to more homes available for local people who currently have difficulty in finding accommodation they can afford.”
