Sefton Council is to spend more than £3m acquiring what will be its first new council housing for 18 years, just north of Liverpool. Tony McDonough reports

Councillors in Sefton have agreed to acquire 18 new apartments in Netherton in a deal worth more than £3m.

Molyneux Gardens will comprise a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments Buckley Hill Lane in Netherton. They are currently being built by Sandway Homes, the council’s own housing development company that was set up in 2018.

The wider development also includes a range of two, three and four-bedroom homes that will be sold on the open market.

Sefton Council is putting more than £2.2m towards the acquisition of the 18 properties which will be its first new council housing for 18 years. Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is chipping in with just over £1m.

The council’s share is being funded through affordable housing capital receipts, historic right to buy sharing agreement receipts and Homes England grant funding.

“High efficiency” boilers and heating systems and energy-efficient designs with high thermal efficiency values to reduce heat loss are among the measures to reduce the site’s carbon footprint. However, none of the homes will have heat pumps installed.

Each of the new properties at the Buckley Hill development and to the apartment block will have electric vehicle charging points. Ground floor apartments will be built to meet national accessibility and adaptability standards.

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Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing said: “We have long recognised that local people need homes, and this scheme will secure some of that much-needed, high-quality accommodation.

“This just marks the start of our drive to re-establish a strong council housing stock in Sefton as well as confirming Sefton Council’s decision to establish Sandway Homes in 2018 was right.”