City of Wolverhampton Council has announced the establishment of a new housing development framework to speed up the delivery of new council homes on sites across the city.

The framework will be supported by £109 million from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget, with further provision allowed for within the 30 year HRA business plan.

It will allow local contractors to apply to the framework to work in partnership with the council to deliver a pipeline of new homes in the medium to long term, supporting the Wolverhampton Pound and local economy.

The framework will also deliver significant social value benefits to the city including opportunities for longer term partnerships with contractors to invest in the city, training and apprenticeship schemes, and local employment opportunities, supporting local small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

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Councillor Steve Evans, Cabinet Member for City Housing, said: "This new framework will help speed up the delivery of good homes in well-connected neighbourhoods across Wolverhampton, while providing affordable housing to residents in housing need and for vulnerable people.

"It will also allow our housing team to plan estate regeneration and gain advice from contractors and developers on buildability and viability as we work in partnership to ensure value for money.

"This will prove to be an effective way to deliver new homes and, crucially, increases the city's housing stock when it needs it most."

The Council's Cabinet Resources Panel last week approved the procurement process for the first four years of the new framework, which will also be accessible to other local authorities through an authorising agreement, generating a potential spend of up to £1billion.