April 21, 2022 5.09 pm This story is over 23 months old

Hykeham housing scheme to be downsized as it goes £1m over budget

Two homes are likely to be cut in order to control costs
Artists' impression of the Grinter Close development, which is set to be reduced by two homes | Photo: NKDC

A council plan to replace sheltered housing with new homes is set to go hundreds of thousands of pounds overbudget.

North Kesteven District Council is considering whether to reduce the number of houses as the scheme’s costs mount up.

It would have delivered 34 new or refurbished homes on Grinter Close and the Grinter House site in North Hykeham.

The original plans approved in March 2020 had a budget of just under £4 million.

However, a council meeting next week will hear that the projected cost has risen by nearly a million pounds after the final house loss payments, legal fees and other factors have been taken into consideration.

They face a decision of whether to deliver to original scheme at a cost of £4,988,500 or not.

Grinter House. | Photo: NKDC

The council’s preferred option is to instead cut two semi-detached homes from the plans, and only up the budget to £4,581,000 – an increase of £655,200.

A report says this will offer the greatest value for money for the council.

The approved plans projected 18 new two, three and four-bedroom homes built on Grinter Close.

The 14 flats for the elderly in Grinter House would also receive their first refurbishment in almost 30 years.

The council says that the original flats had proven unpopular with potential tenants due to “dated design, institutionalised environment, small unit size and poor access to individual homes via a central internal corridor.”

Its hoped that the regeneration will make the more attractive, with 16 affordable flats each getting their own entrance and increased floor space.

The projected costs of the project has risen | Photo: NKDC

North Kesteven District Council plans to apply for additional Homes England Grant funding to make the scheme more viable.

The report into the budget changes concludes: “There is need for additional council homes in North Kesteven. North Hykeham represents and area of high demand.

“The revised scheme [with fewer homes] maintains the opportunity to regenerate an area of outdated and limited housing to deliver new and more suitable housing in the area.”

The meeting will take place on Thursday, April 28.