Salford City Council’s new housing company Dérive has picked up the keys to its first new homes.
The keys to the first of 20 two and three bedroomed properties are now being handed over to tenants.
The properties at Riverbank View in Charlestown were bought off plan from Keepmoat Homes to provide affordable homes for people in Salford.
The homes are part of a wider 430 home development where a fifth (86) of the homes are affordable.
Forty three affordable homes have already been delivered and Dérive is purchasing a further 20 affordable homes, with an opportunity for another 23 homes when the final stage of development takes place.
Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said: “It is fantastic news that local people now have the keys to their brand new homes and are moving in. I can’t wait to meet them and I hope they have many happy years in their new community.
“We have 52 bids on every home advertised and the demand for affordable homes is incredible. We are fully aware that these 20 new homes will not solve the housing crisis as there are still over 6,000 people on our housing waiting lists. But we are doing all we can to help local people. We are buying homes off plan to begin with and will then build our own homes as the company grows.”
Councillor John Merry, a director of Dérive, said: “We started Dérive as a wholly owned subsidiary of the council with £2 million of Section 106 money. We had to do this in the absence of any government support so we could meet the needs of local people who are desperate for affordable homes. There is a national housing crisis so we had to take our own action.”
Councillor Tracy Kelly, a director at Dérive and Lead Member for Housing and Neighbourhoods at Salford City Council, said: “We have a shortfall of 613 affordable homes each year – the figures show how desperate the situation is. But we have more homes in the pipeline and will continue to find innovative and complementary ways of increasing much needed affordable housing for local people.”
