HARLOW Council has unveiled plans for a £1.8m house building programme which will see the first new Council homes being built in the town for almost 25 years.

At a Cabinet meeting the Council agreed to award a contract up to the value of £2.7m to build new Council homes for rent on disused or under used garage sites across the town.

The contract will initially see 14 new houses constructed as early as next summer with completion in May 2015. The cost of the initial project is £1.8m and as more funding becomes available further homes could be built.

The Council has identified 15 potential disused or under used garage sites which could provide a total of 91 new homes. The programme will be funded with money ring-fenced for affordable housing.

Councillor Paul Schroder, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, said: “This is a key moment for the Council and the town. It has been almost 25 years since the last Council house was built in Harlow. This programme will provide new high quality homes for local families on our Housing Needs Register and also regenerate disused or under used garage sites. This is only the beginning of what we want to achieve from building new Council houses which will change the lives of local families who need a home.”

Councillor Rod Truan, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Housing, said: “We’ve already started to modernise existing Council homes with our five-year £100m housing investment programme. I’m delighted that we’ve now unveiled our programme to start building new modern Council homes. Together these two programmes will meet our number one priority – more and better housing.”