Bath & North East Somerset Council’s cabinet will meet on September 11 to provide final authority and budget approval for its own 16-unit specialist supported housing development.
The council’s Englishcombe Lane Supported Housing Scheme received planning permission in September 2024 for 16 specialist units ‘providing a calm, sensory-friendly environment with care and support on the site’.
The meeting on September 11 is regarding the allocation of £10.122m capital funding that is required for the development on the council owned land. It is understood that approval of the funds is likely.
If approved, the council would issue an invitation to tender later this month and award the contract in November, enabling construction works to start in July 2026. It is expected the scheme will be completed by March 2028.
The scheme comprises of 10 one-bedroom single-storey houses, five two-bedroom houses (one single-storey and four two-storey) and one three-bedroom single-storey house.
The development will support residents with learning disabilities or autism to live as independently as possible in their own homes while keeping them close to their families and communities.
Councillor Alison Born, Cabinet Member for Adult Services, said: “This is a landmark development for inclusive housing in Bath that will ensure vulnerable residents have the bespoke support and stability they need.
“It will reduce the need for people to move away from their families into expensive out-of-area placements or have to remain in inappropriate accommodation, instead keeping them close to their friends and loved ones.
“Not only will the scheme deliver on our priority to provide the right homes in the right places, it will also protect the ecology of the site with a 20% biodiversity net gain that exceeds mandatory requirements.
“This reflects our commitment to sustainable development across the whole of B&NES.”
The planning application attracted controversy due to the site, known locally as Tufa Field, being home to a variety of wildlife and the scheme’s proposed loss of biodiversity.
Notwithstanding, the scheme has received a national Housing Design Award, a national Planning Award and was shortlisted in the Design in Mental Health awards.
The scheme is financed through rent-backed borrowing, service savings from in-house provision, a Homes England Grant, and S106 funds.
Image: Bath and North East Somerset Council
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