Carmarthenshire County Council’s Housing team continue to prove it is leading the way in providing quality, affordable homes for local people.
In yet another first, they are today celebrating the Housing Minister’s announcement that their request to suspend the Right to Buy scheme has been successful – the first council in Wales to introduce the measure, which the Welsh Government is now seeking to roll out across the country.
The move means that they are now able to retain ownership of every property in its stock, and are not obliged to sell homes to tenants who can afford to buy them at a reduced market rate.
Just last week, they heard that planning permission had been granted on one of Wales’s first housing cooperatives at Bro Myrddin, Carmarthen.
The housing cooperative model provides an alternative to people who want greater control of their homes, allowing them to jointly manage and set rent levels along with other co-opted members.
The council also leads the field in bringing empty homes back in to use.
Early in the new year, First Minister Carwyn Jones visited Burry Port to see the action the housing team had taken to bring an eyesore derelict property back in to use, enforcing its sale and renovating it through the Houses into Homes scheme.
The council was the first to employ a dedicated empty homes advisor some years ago, whose role is to tackle the issue of empty homes.
It was also one of the first authorities in the UK to use a rare legal order – the Empty Dwelling Management Order – to enforce the renovation of a property in Llangennech in 2012.
Last year, the council celebrated the completion of several bungalows – the first council homes to be built in Wales since the 1980s.
Cllr Tegwen Devichand, Executive Board Member for Housing, said: “I am extremely proud of everything we have achieved here in Carmarthenshire, but none of this would be possible if it were not for the sheer hard work and dedication of our housing team. All these achievements, where Carmarthenshire has been at the forefront of housing provision, have been made whilst they have delivered a £220million investment programme to improve our stock of 9,000 homes, whilst creating better health and living conditions for tenants.
“This is no mean feat, but they continue to put the needs of local people first and foremost.
“Carmarthenshire is most definitely leading the way.”
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