An arm’s-length management organisation is taking ownership of council land so it can attract new sources of funding and build hundreds of homes.
Rykneld Homes has been granted registered provider status by the Homes and Communities Agency, meaning it can own, as well as manage, homes and apply for development funding.
The 8,100-home ALMO said it hopes the move will allow it to eventually meet its housing need of 490 additional homes a year.
Rykneld has formed a partnership with North East Derbyshire Council, which has transferred land for 150 homes as part of an £11 million regeneration scheme. The council has financed the work through housing revenue account funding and prudential borrowing.
It plans to demolish 104 bungalows currently at Eckington and Killamarsh and replace them with 104 new semi-detached properties along with an additional eight bungalows and 22 houses. Galliford Try has been appointed as the developer and will start on-site on Monday.
Rykneld will own the properties and will use them to attract further investment by using the homes as loan security. It plans to bid for HCA funding under the next £2.9 billion round of the affordable homes programme.
Under the partnership the council will benefit from council tax income and the new homes bonus cash generated by the new homes.
Lorraine Shaw, managing director of Rykneld Homes, said: ‘Council need is 490 additional homes a year… By registering with the HCA we are starting a process that could see us deliver that.’