Sandwell Council has announced that they are building forty-seven new bungalows in West Bromwich to help combat the shortage of adaptable homes in the West Midlands. In addition, ninety homes have been built in Rowley Regis. The English Housing Survey has revealed that one million households do not have the adaptations that their residents require.
Out of the forty-seven new bungalows that are being built, four are built to M4(3) standard, this means the four homes are wheelchair accessible. The remaining forty-three bungalows are built to the M4(2) standard, this means that these homes can be adapted to meet the resident’s requirements.
With the additional ninety homes, there are five that are built to M4(3) standard, this means that they are wheelchair accessible. The remaining eighty-five are built to the M4(2) standard. All one hundred and forty-one homes have been delivered to residents in West Bromwich.
Research carried out by Habinteg Housing Association has shown that one in every six-hundred and fifty-six homes are accessible for those with disabilities in 2020, in the West Midlands. The availability of adapted homes has dropped from one in every two-hundred and seventy homes are accessible for those with disabilities in 2019. Follow this link to access the report: https://bit.ly/3narrbE
On a national level, there has been a decrease in plans to build new accessible and adaptable homes. In habiting’s forecast for 2020, their latest forecast at time of writing, they stated that 29% of the homes to be built will fall into the M4(2) standard. From their 2019 forecast it has dropped from 32% of new homes falling into the M4(2) standard.
Alan Martin, Sandwell Council’s Partnerships and Programme Manager, said: “So far 141 homes have been delivered.
“There are also a number of schemes in the design stage which also have M4(2) and M4(3) units in the output requirements.”
Sam Johal-Stokes, a local disabled resident, said: “I like the initiative that the council has taken with the building of these homes.
"They will help people like me to live comfortably and without worry that we are safe in our homes.
"This is a step in the right direction for all disabled people, however a wider spread of these adapted homes would be welcomed by us.”
Speaking about the financial investment, Councillor Zahoor Ahmed, Sandwell’s Council’s cabinet minister for housing said: “We’ve invested around £70 million in the last three years as part of our ongoing programme to build hundreds of new council homes for local people.”
Sandwell council has also announced that there are an additional eighteen homes across West Bromwich, Smethwick and Wednesbury that are yet to be delivered for residents. Two of the homes that are due for delivery in West Bromwich are built to the M4(3) wheelchair standard. The remaining sixteen properties have been built to the M4(2) adaptable standard.
The locations of the new adapted homes.
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