THE borough council's cabinet has pledged to make delivering more affordable homes a priority, with a focus on social rented homes.

The updated Council Plan, which was agreed by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's cabinet on Tuesday, October 10 before going to full council for approval, has set out a clear focus on speeding up the delivery of affordable homes in the borough to tackle the borough’s growing housing register.

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Cabinet member for residents’ services and housing, Cllr Laura James, said: “The number of affordable homes being built is reducing and we are determined to turn that around using all the means at our disposal. For example, we will map council-owned land and seek to bring appropriate sites forward for development.

“We’ll work closely with our housing partners and other public sector landowners to speed up the delivery of affordable homes through an enhanced partnership focused on regeneration, in areas such as Buckskin, South Ham and Winklebury.

"We will use all of the tools we have to drive forward the delivery of more affordable homes because we know there is a demand and need. We are determined to do everything we can to tackle the affordable housing crisis so many people face.”

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The cabinet will consider all options available and look to enable a ‘can do’ approach to affordable housing development across the borough.

The council will map the land it and other private sector partners, such as Hampshire County council and housing providers, own that could be used to deliver more social rented homes as quickly as possible.

Cllr James added: “We know from listening to residents that getting a home that is affordable is getting harder and the private market is out of reach for many. We are listening and, although we have a successful track record in securing affordable housing in the borough through the work of housing providers, more needs to be done to tackle the housing crisis.

“By using the land that we and others own, we have a real opportunity to prioritise the delivery of social rented housing and create great places to live that we know people want and that meet their needs at every stage of life.”