City prepares for a building bonanza

Exeter is gearing up for a strong performance in the delivery of new housing over the next few years, despite the increasingly challenging economic conditions, the City Council has said.

A total of 26,411 new homes were registered in the UK in the three months to the end of October 2012, roughly the same level as the same period last year.

But homes registered in the public sector were down 2% compared to the same period last year.

Though there are challenging times ahead in the housing market, and especially for the delivery of much needed affordable housing, Exeter is set to buck the national trend with an influx of major housing developments in the pipeline.

The proposed urban expansion areas of Monkerton/Hill Barton, Newcourt, and Alphington alone are set to deliver 21 hectares of employment land and around 6,500 new homes.

"We will work hard with developers to implement our policy of ensuring 25% of all new properties are allocated for affordable housing," said Cllr Rob Hannaford, Lead Councillor for Housing and Community Involvement.

The new town of Cranbrook started on site earlier this year and is set to deliver some 2,900 new houses built to the highest code for sustainable homes.

Cranbrook is in the local authority area of East Devon District Council, but Exeter City Council has been successful in securing nomination rights for some 114 social rented homes in the first phase of the development.

Cllr Hannaford added: "A further 107 affordable homes in new developments across the city are currently on-site and are expected to deliver over the next 16 months.

Twelve other major housing developments in Exeter have been granted planning permission and are waiting to start on-site.

This could yield a further 300 affordable homes over the forthcoming years. For families looking for a foothold on the property ladder, the Homes and Communities

Agency (HCA) has recently received applications to fund a further 97 FirstBuy property purchases in Exeter during 2013/14.