‘Affordable’ housing block nears completion as Oldham grapples with rent hikes

First Choice Homes Oldham will manage the new affordable homes. Image courtesy of Google Street View

Construction of a block of affordable homes is nearing completion in Oldham – as the borough continues to grapple with soaring rent prices.

All of the 30 flats on High Barn Street in Royton will be available for affordable rent once completed.  

Plans for the three-storey block by Lancet Homes were first approved in 2021 and now recent applications submitted for minor amendments to the original plans show the building is nearly finished.

The building on the Former High Barn Resource Centre will include 15 two-bed and an equal number of one-bedroom apartments.

The block will share 30 parking spaces, with nearby bus links to Oldham town centre and Shaw. 

Due to be managed by First Choice Homes Oldham, the homes will be offered at up to 80 percent of the market rent value – the developer definition of ‘affordable’.

Though with rents averaging around £900 for one to two-bed properties, this could still amount to up to £720 per month. 

The progress comes as Oldham borough continues to see soaring rental prices, far above the average price hikes for the North West.

Rents have increased by more than 13 percent compared to last year – leaping from £703 last October to £796 last month. 

Rents have changed by less than 10 per cent in the North West in the same period and around nine per cent pc nationally, according to the Office for National Statistics.

And the borough, which declared a ‘housing emergency’ earlier this year, is in desperate need of affordable and social housing, with more than 7,000 households currently on the social housing register waiting for a home.

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