All homes to be built on Rugby's Biart Place site will be social housing, council confirms

A spokesperson for Rugby Borough Council said that nearly £9m in grants means that the project to replace the demolished housing stock will no longer need to be funded by having a proportion of it sold as ‘affordable’ or private housing.

Homes England has awarded the project £6.8million from their Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 and Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) has awarded £2million via the government’s Getting Building Fund (GBF).

A report being presented to councillors at a meeting of Rugby Borough Council – to be held on July 19 – explains that Rugby is a high-pressure affordability area.

This has led Homes England to agree to fund the scheme as 100 per cent social rented housing, as opposed to the more expensive affordable rent which is up to 80 per cent of market rent.

Cllr Emma Crane, Rugby Borough Council portfolio holder for communities, homes, digital and communications, said: “These grants are a significant endorsement of the council’s ambitious plans to develop the Biart Place site and build modern, low carbon homes for our tenants.

“At a time when the cost of living continues to increase, it is important that we do everything we can to provide high quality, socially rented homes whenever we can.

The Biart Place site formerly consisted of 124 flats in two eleven-storey blocks of Byron large panel system construction, which were deconstructed during lockdown.

The towers were built in 1968 to a poor standard and surveys showed they may not perform as expected in the event of a fire or explosion.

Councillors approved plans for the demolition of the site in September 2018 after concluding that the blocks were beyond economic repair and for the development of the site as 100 per cent social housing in March 2022 with Homes England’s support.With funding now in place, the council said it intends to share detailed plans for the site with nearby residents shortly. It is hoped that a planning application for the development will be submitted this autumn.