Our Housing Team have secured £1.04m in grant funding to invest in more affordable housing in Barnsley.

Our Cabinet granted approval to accept funding from the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) Round 2. This will allow us to add 13 affordable homes to Barnsley’s housing stock, including 12 for rent through Berneslai Homes, and one additional unit for temporary accommodation which will be used to support people out of homelessness.

The funding includes £780,000 capital funding towards either building new homes or purchasing existing homes, and £260,000 revenue funding to support repair and maintenance costs. The council is required to match fund this with a £1.17m contribution, taking the total investment to £2.21m.

Next week, Cabinet will discuss how this funding is used.

The funding requires that the houses are used initially to help support Afghans who had been supporting British operations in Afghanistan. The properties will become part of the wider housing stock once no longer needed for the Afghan resettlement programme.

Cllr Robin Franklin, Cabinet Spokesperson for Regeneration and Culture, said: “The government requires us to deliver at least 900 additional homes a year. We’re making sure our borough will have a variety of housing, so you can live in the right home for you.  

“This grant funding will help us create much-needed affordable homes for local residents. It will also provide temporary accommodation to support our housing team as they help people out of homelessness.”