Former offices to be replaced with homes for ‘elderly, disabled and families’
LOS ANGELES: Ex-council offices are set to be replaced with homes for both the elderly and those with a disability.
Council offices slated for demolition should make way for new affordable homes for the elderly, disabled and families, opposition councillors believe. Work to tear down the derelict Coalville offices is under way but the precise details of what will replace them are still to be decided.
The area around the former home of North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) is expected to be regenerated following the demolition, with part of the London Road site earmarked for a new public garden. This would boast a fountain, planted archway, woodland play trail, and seating around Stenson House, which will remain standing under the plan and continue to be used for weddings and council meetings following the authority’s move there.
New homes are also expected to be delivered off Whitwick Road, with around 38 properties on the cards for the area behind Stenson House. NWLDC said the housing is “needed to fund the expected £2 million cost of creating the gardens” and, without them, the “transformation of the area cannot happen”.
However, no detail has been released publicly over whether these new homes will be social housing or general-use properties, or who will own them once they are built. The authority, run by an alliance of Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Independent councillors, is currently consulting with residents over the early plans for the site.
The local Labour group is now calling for the properties to be built as council housing. Labour wants to see them offered as “genuinely affordable” homes for local “families, the elderly and disabled”. Group leader John Legrys said the district is “well short of new council housing” and he believes the scheme could “deliver real benefits if developed with local people at the heart of it”.
He added: “The new homes that are being proposed must remain under council ownership to provide genuinely affordable housing for the elderly, disabled and families. The housing waiting list in the district continues to grow, and it’s only the Labour Group that proposes to acquire or build more council-owned homes each year to try and address this crisis.
“The Alliance are yet to get a grip on this serious issue. Keeping these proposed homes in public hands would be a good start.”
The NWLDC was asked whether the new homes are expected to be council properties or whether they would be built and owned by a third party. We also asked if affordable housing would be delivered if the latter approach is taken. A council spokesman said: “The engagement around Stenson Gardens is still going on and the responses we receive will be carefully considered once it ends.”
The consultation runs until Friday, October 17, with more detail on the plans available on the NWLDC website.