Funding approved for new homes

Kirkholt is set to receive extra housing after it was chosen as one of the priority areas by the Greater Manchester Executive.

The scheme is one of 29 schemes throughout Greater Manchester which will receive funding from the Homes and Communities Agency grant.

The Kirkholt project will see 31 homes for rent and 3 under “Homebuy” on various sites in partnership with Brighter Horizons.

The grant for that scheme is £2,320,000.

The other Rochdale scheme approved was Hill Street , involving 5 homes for rent in partnership with Great Northern Counties, supported with a grant of £310,000.

Balderstone and Kirkholt Councillor Liz Thirk said: “This is fantastic news for Kirkholt. Rochdale needs more affordable housing and this is another step towards our target of providing an extra 150 homes for rent by 2011. I look forward to the project commencing later this year.”

Ward colleague Councillor Dale Mulgrew said: “I’m delighted that the council has done a great job in managing to secure this funding for Kirkholt. The previous announcement that this scheme would be reviewed caused a wave of disappointment around the estate, as residents thought that once more plans to change Kirkholt were to be dashed.

“This is because this housing scheme is part of the wider regeneration project for the estate, and residents around Kirkholt are getting impatient on the delivery of the overall vision.”

Councillor Mulgrew added: “But this great news now means that progress can continue on the plans for the estate, and with new housing also planned to be started soon on the site of the former Queensway primary School, the regeneration project can now start to shift its focus towards what the future of the Strand shopping precinct should look like.”