A housing scheme in Salford is set to be altered to include more affordable homes. Planning permission for 177 new homes on the site of the former Harrop Fold High School was granted in 2021.
The school relocated in 2008, leaving the land empty and ripe for redevelopment. Now a new proposal has been put forward to remove 20 of the new homes from the private rental market, to make them available for shared ownership instead.
This can offer more affordable routes for people to get on the housing ladder. There are also small changes to the number of homes set to be sold, or available at ‘affordable’ or ‘social’ rent prices.
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Salford councillors are set to approve the updated plans during a meeting at the town hall on Thursday (June 20). The Salford council scheme is made up of 45 apartments and 132 houses, based on the site which also includes car parking, landscaping, open space and vehicle access off Longshaw Drive in Little Hulton.
Planning documents submitted in 2021 stated that there are an average of 50 bids for every affordable home advertised in the area. The proposals were first shared as part of a major programme to boost housing in the borough, led by council-owned company Dérive.
But residents cited concerns at the time over the loss of a footpath used to get to Little Hulton Precinct and other local areas. When the housing scheme was approved in 2021, a plot of land on the site was ‘safeguarded’ to allow for pedestrian access in the event that any legal claim of a public right of way was successful.
More affordable homes will be welcome in Salford, which is dealing with huge demand for housing and a growing population. A number of other housing developments are taking place around the borough, alongside plans to build hundreds of new council homes over the next few years.