£60m on new housing in Wigan

Wigan Council is to spend a massive £60m on new-build houses and flats in the next four years, town hall chiefs have revealed.
60m to be spent on housing in next four years60m to be spent on housing in next four years
60m to be spent on housing in next four years

Local developers are being urged to apply to an ambitious project which will deliver a “range of homes” across the borough at various sites - all of which are yet to be confirmed.

Council officers are currently establishing a different “procurement framework” as part of the authority’s 10-year ambition to deliver enough “quality housing” to match demand and provide jobs and economic growth for the benefits of residents.

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The framework will be divided into six lots of homes split by construction type and value band from £500,000 to £4.5m.

A maximum of three contractors per lot will be expected to deliver specialist and supported housing as well as “general needs” housing, depending on which lot they bid on, between 2019 and 2023.

Marie Bintley, assistant director for growth and housing, said: “We are committed to enabling the building of 10,000 new homes in the borough over the next decade to match demand, especially among young families or first time buyers wanting to get onto the property ladder.

“Some of this we will build ourselves through our direct delivery programme.

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“It is important that we support all new housing to support growth in our local economy and encourage more people to live here.

“Good quality new housing along with improved transport links provides the right mix to keep our local economy growing.”

The lots being advertised are not based on specific sites but are split to encourage a range of small and large contractors to apply, and council bosses are hoping that this method will entice local companies into applying.

Ms Bintley added: “Every four years we have to go out for partner contractors to build housing within our direct delivery programme.

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“The new framework has been designed so that we can get both good value, and good quality from the money we invest in new homes.

“Our current framework expires in April so we are inviting partner contractors to come forward and then we can tap into them when we need a scheme building.”

The town hall is hoping that after the application process, it will have a pool of partner contractors it can tap into to deliver the homes.