WQ93017 (e) Tabled on 24/05/2024

How is the Cabinet Secretary working with Denbighshire County Council to accelerate the sale of unused council properties for residential housing developments?

Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning | Answered on 03/06/2024

Denbighshire County Council is responsible for understanding and determining its local housing requirements through its Local Housing Market Assessment (LHMA) and its Local Development Plan (LDP).

As delivering social housing is a key priority for this Government, we work with the council by providing grant in the form of either Social Housing Grant (SHG) or Transitional Accommodation Capital Programme (TACP). These can be used to convert non-residential buildings into housing, to demolish properties to build newbuild housing, or to bring back existing social homes into use.   Using these grants, unused properties can either be sold to their Registered Social Landlords (RSL) partners or retained by the council.

Selling properties to the private sector is a commercial decision and a matter for the council based on the specific needs of the area.