WORK has begun on the construction of 51 new council homes in Leonard Stanley.
The new development, in Mankley Road, will see a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom homes built on the site of 23 former council homes, which were demolished after coming to the end of their useful lives.
Mother of three, Kerry Greenaway, a council tenant who lived in one of the old homes will be returning to a brand new property.
“We’re looking forward to coming back to a modern and much more energy efficient home next year,” she said.
“I’m sure the kids will appreciate having their own bedrooms too. We love the area and are delighted to be staying. Leonard Stanley is a great place to live."
The council is investing over £5.5 million in the project, part of an overall spend of £19.5 million across the district to provide over 200 new homes in Stroud, Minchinhampton, Berkeley, Cam, Coaley, South Woodchester and Littlecombe by spring 2018.
The Homes and Communities Agency provided funding of just over £1 million for the Mankley Road scheme.
Cllr Mattie Ross, chair of Stroud District Council’s (SDC) Housing Committee, said: “As is common with traditional council estates, this was a large site with very big gardens.
“When completed, this development will have more than double the number of homes. The gardens will still be of a decent size but we’ll be making more effective use of the land so that more people have the opportunity to live in an affordable home.”
The development, which is due to be completed in September next year, has been carefully designed with flats, bungalows and houses to encourage a vibrant and diverse community.
Forty-one of the new homes will be offered for rental whilst 10 will be available on a shared ownership basis - a way of part-owning a property and getting on the housing ladder.
SDC is the only local authority in Gloucestershire which still owns and manages council houses, with the others having transferred them into other social housing organisations.
The keys to the first council homes to be built in over 30 years in the district were handed over to residents in Minchinhampton just before Christmas last year.
At the start of next year the council’s building programme will see work start on 37 more new homes in the Top of Town area of Stroud and 14 homes in Chapel Street, Cam.
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