Seventy council houses are being built at Garden Village and will go to families on Swansea’s housing waiting list.
A further 71 homes on the same site will be sold to first-time buyers at less than the market price, under a low-cost ownership scheme.
Swansea Council has bought all 141 from Persimmon Homes West Wales, across the Cwrt y Brenin and Llys Pentre outlets. It says this is the first time it has taken direct ownership of the affordable housing in a planning agreement, rather than passing it to a housing association.
What the discount actually means
Buyers of the 71 low-cost homes pay below the open market value, with the difference secured against the property as a second charge. It is a standard arrangement, used widely by housing associations, and it keeps the home affordable for the next buyer rather than letting the discount disappear at the first resale.
The remaining 70 stay in council ownership as rented housing, adding to a stock the authority has been trying to grow for several years.
Where the homes are going up
Cwrt y Brenin is reached from Gorseinon, Llys Pentre from Penllergaer. Between them the site is expected to take up to 750 homes.
The wider scheme also includes a primary school, a park, commercial units and open space.
The council and Persimmon say the plans take in a trim trail of around 5km around the site perimeter, a community orchard, two BMX pump tracks and several equipped play areas.
Homes on the first phase are being fitted with solar panels and built to EPC rating A. Persimmon says later phases will be fully electric, running on air source heat pumps and solar cells.
One deal, against a slower backdrop
The agreement lands in a part of Swansea already carrying thousands of homes at various stages. Plans went in last month for up to 400 more on the former 3M factory site on Gorseinon Road.
Delivery across the city has been slower than planned. Swansea’s Local Development Plan promised more than 7,000 homes across its strategic sites, and fewer than 300 had been built six years in.
Persimmon itself is held up elsewhere in the area. Last week a Welsh Government letter revealed the company had gone five weeks without responding on an environmental study needed before 216 homes at Gowerton can be decided either way.
What the three parties say
Cllr Andrea Harrington, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transformation, called it “a landmark moment for Swansea Council in terms of the continued development of new and affordable homes across Swansea”.
She said working with Persimmon had allowed the council to secure a large number of homes it could offer to residents at a reduced price, and that the council-owned properties would go to families and individuals on the waiting list.
Cllr Andrew Williams, Cabinet Member for Development, said the council recognised the importance of working with developers to increase housing in the city.
“This is a significant increase, not only of the availability of affordable housing in Swansea, but also the increase in the Council’s own housing stock,” he said.
Stuart Phillips, managing director of Persimmon Homes West Wales, said the agreement would provide much-needed affordable housing for local people, and that the company looked forward to continuing its relationship with the council.
Two, three and four-bedroom homes are on sale on the open market at both Cwrt y Brenin and Llys Pentre.
Discover more from Swansea Bay News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
