Herefordshire Council to investigate setting up development company to meet affordable housing need

Released On 28th Apr 2025

Herefordshire has a critical need for more affordable housing and, to help increase the supply of affordable housing, is going to explore the option of setting up a council owned development company.  The Council’s decision was informed by a Three Dragons report - Best Practice: Review of approaches to developing & delivering affordable/ social housing. The report scoped a number of approaches to dealing with the affordable housing shortage, all of which had potential to increase capacity and influence the type of housing being built within Herefordshire.

A development company can give a local authority control of the development process and offers a wide range of housing choices (market and social) to fill gaps that the local market is not filling. Depending on the council’s ambitions a development company is capable of delivering at scale or to meet small local opportunities. The report also outlines measures that the council can take to minimise risk and meet local need.

At the cabinet meeting (6th March 2025) members commented that this “was a good initiative and will generate an income stream other than council tax and business rates” and that “It was clear that the level of demand was outstripping housing need and it was important that there were long term building blocks in place to make a real difference to residents”. The meeting therefore resolved to “explore the development of a Herefordshire Council owned housing development company, to meet some of the county’s critical housing need”.

Tags: Housing Policy Analysis, Increasing Housing Choice, Development Viability