Since Lancaster City Council have found the money to honour their contract and match fund the HCA funding to regenerate Chatsworth Gardens progress has been made.
In an answer to a written question submitted by David Morris MP Housing Minister Brandon Lewis MP states:
The Chatsworth Gardens project, known as West End One, is a flagship private rent project involving refurbishing and remodelling 27 empty properties to create 51 (1, 2, 3, & 4-bed) homes. Work on site commenced in early 2015 and, to date, ten 4-bedroom houses have been completed. The project is supported by £8.3 million of funding from the Homes and Communities Agency and £1.9 million of empty homes funding.
The next release of new homes is expected later this month, with completion of all units by Autumn 2016. West End Two, the adjacent site is to follow on directly creating a further 50 homes for private rent.
The Department does not collect data on all housing developments across the country, but 13 developments, either completed since 2014 or are currently on site, across the Lancaster City Council area have received Social Housing Grant via the Homes and Communities Agency, totalling £8.0 million and are providing a total of 231 new affordable homes.
David Morris MP said:
‘I am pleased that Lancaster City Council have now addressed this project in an area which has been neglected for too long. It is great to see that ten homes have already been completed and you only have to walk along the roads included in the Chatsworth Gardens project to see what a huge difference the project already makes to the area. I am pleased that the City Council have listened to the petition of local residents who were unhappy with the homes being empty and are pressing forward with the project’