Published on 5th February 2020

green plastic houses

Cheltenham Borough Council (CBC) and Cheltenham Borough Homes (CBH) have been pressing ahead with their hugely ambitious multi-million pound Housing Investment Plan (HIP).

The plan will see £100m invested in quality homes and thriving communities.

The formal signing of a landmark £100m loan, which took place on 15 January, is a significant milestone and will help to deliver against these ambitious plans.

CBC and CBH are now well-positioned to achieve some very exciting targets for supplying affordable homes and homes for the private rented sector.  Private rented homes will benefit from more secure tenancies, and these new tenants will benefit from the high-quality services that CBH provide.

The recently signed agreement means that CBH will be looking to acquire its first private rented homes early in 2020.

Work has been ongoing over the last 12 months delivering affordable homes at two development schemes that are progressing well. The development at Monkscroft Villas is providing 27 new homes and on the former site of Holy Name Hall on Pennine Road a further eight homes are being built.  Additional land for future building is being actively sought.

Councillor Peter Jeffries, deputy leader and cabinet member for housing at Cheltenham Borough Council, said: “This is fantastic news as there’s considerable demand for high quality homes in Cheltenham. The £100m is a major investment in Cheltenham’s future.

“Our new agreement for this hugely ambitious project with Cheltenham Borough Homes will enable us to work together to provide 500 homes in the next four years.’’

Jason Langley, chair of Cheltenham Borough Homes’ board, added: “This ushers in an exciting new era for CBC and CBH, enabling us to accelerate our new supply programme and provide even more high quality homes for Cheltenham.

“The agreement reaffirms our excellent working relationship with Cheltenham Borough Council and we will continue to work closely with them to identify and take advantage of opportunities, working innovatively to achieve our ambitious aim to deliver more than 500 homes for Cheltenham by 2023.” 

Notes to editors: Following the lifting of the government’s debt cap on the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), the council has more financial freedom to provide more housing, alongside Cheltenham Borough Homes.