Nine more affordable properties have been made available to residents in Southend thanks to a joint initiative between conservative lead Southend Council and Guinness South.
The Council has invested £220,000 in Guinness South’s development at North Shoebury Road, which provides nine two-bedroomed flats for people on its Homeseekers register.
The flats are owned and managed by Guinness South but the Council will continue to have nomination rights which will enable it to give first priority to working households.
The partnership initiative is the first in the borough to set the cost of the properties at 80 per cent of market rent – helping people who cannot afford to rent a property on the open market.
Southend Council’s Executive Councillor for Adult Social Care, Health and Housing, Conservative, Lesley Salter, said: “This is a very welcome step and we hope it will pave the way to other similar schemes. It is crucial in these difficult economic times that we do all we can to help people find much needed homes at prices they can afford to carry on paying.”
Housing is a major issue for many in Southend that no one in initiative can solve but this is part of a joined up approach to tackling the many and varied housing issues and a welcome step in the right direction.
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