BRAND new homes on the site of Bromsgrove District Council's former head offices are set to be handed over to their new owners and operators.

Of the 61 new low-carbon homes on Burcot Lane, Bromsgrove District Housing Trust, will now get 12 for social rent and six for shared ownership, and 37 will be privately rented through Spadesbourne Homes, a new company set up by the district council.

Six will also be available to buy on the open market.

Councillor Shirley Webb, Bromsgrove District Council’s portfolio holder for strategic housing, said: “We’re delighted to have regenerated this area through this high-quality development.

"Speller Metcalfe have done a lovely job of the homes.

"All that remains now is for us to complete the business of getting them into the hands of BDHT, Spadesbourne Homes Ltd, and their other new owners, so that people can start living in them.

“If people don’t already know about Spadesbourne Homes, it stems from the council deciding to enhance this land as a public asset, rather than sell it off to a private developer to build on.

“We believed that we could take a longer view than your average developer, ensuring the development had a wide mix of tenures, was built to a high quality, and achieved Secure by Design Gold Standard. We could then sell a handful and manage the remaining homes via a council-owned company – long term plans that are now becoming reality.”

Spadesbourne Homes is a 100 per cent council-owned company, which will own the properties and contract all the business of renting them to tenants out to local businesses with the relevant expertise. The rental income pays the cost of the long-term lease of the properties from the council and running them, and any surplus revenue over time can be reinvested in local services.