NEW council bungalows costing £283,000 each have been defended by Labour councillors in Swansea.
The construction costs of the six semi-detached bungalows in West Cross was revealed by Labour cabinet member for service transformation, Cllr Andrea Lewis, in response to a written question by the leader of Swansea Conservatives. The £283,000 figure includes technology such as ground source heat pumps, battery storage and solar panels, worth a total of £51,000.
The overall cost of the scheme though, factoring in site preparation, design fees and landscaping, among other things, works out at £363,000 per bungalow. More than half the scheme’s cost has been funded via Welsh Government grants.
Conservative group leader Cllr Lyndon Jones said he felt this was too much, and that the council could get more “bang for its buck” by building a larger number of cheaper properties.
Speaking at a meeting of full council, Cllr Jones said: “Why are we paying so much? Yes, there is grant funding but the unit cost is so high.”
Cllr Lewis said council houses in Wales had to be built to a higher standard than ones built by private developers, which increased costs.
She added that it was better to install energy efficiency and generation technology at the outset rather than retrofit it to the bungalows at a later date. She said councils would have to do this retrofitting to decarbonise their properties in the years to come.
The bungalows are the latest in a series of relatively small-scale house-building projects by the council over the six years or so.
Cllr Lewis said: “I do accept that we need to look at value engineering and how we can bring costs down, and we are using these schemes to do that.”
She said an added advantage of the West Cross bungalows, which don’t need gas for heating, were low energy bills. The tenants, she said, were “absolutely delighted” with their new homes.
Many West Cross residents objected when the council applied for planning permission to build the bungalows because they said green space would have to make way for them. There were also five letters of support, and consent was granted.
All the bungalows at the newly-named Cherry Blossom Close are occupied, and some tenants spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service about what it was like to live there.
Carole and Robert James moved from Penlan within five days of being offered one of them, in May. Mrs James, 61, said anti-social behaviour was an issue where they lived before and that they were also health considerations to take into account.
She said she and her husband went to West Cross to look at the two-bedroom bungalows before moving in. “I absolutely could not believe it – amazing,” said Mrs James, who works part-time as a credit controller. Keen gardener Mr James, 71, said: “It was like I’d died and gone to heaven.”
The couple said they’ve paid decorating costs and also for flooring, apart from in the kitchen and bathroom. They’ve got a pond at the back, love the stone garden wall, and have planting plans for next year. Their rent is £115 per week.
Retired dispatch worker Mr James said they were currently paying £1 per week for their energy – although this will increase in the winter – plus a £13.50 per month electricity standing charge. This was in contrast to £89 monthly gas and £77 monthly electricity bills in Penlan.
His wife said tenants at the bungalows kept an eye on one other – sometimes making each other food – and that she was now a regular visitor to nearby Mumbles on her days off work. “I’d lived in Penlan for 18 years and had only been to Mumbles once,” she said.
Mr and Mrs James said they realised the bungalows weren’t cheap to build, and they considered themselves very fortunate to live there.
“These are better than what you would get on the private market,” said Mr James. His wife added: “I think people deserve proper homes.” Would she considering moving back to her old home? “Never in a million years,” she said. “We’re going out feet first.”
Another tenant, Paul Lloyd, had a short move from a council house on Ilston Way, West Cross. “I like it here – it’s a vast improvement,” said the 73-year-old. “It’s a modern design, well insulated. There is no gas at all.”
Mr Lloyd said he believed all homes should have a certain level of energy efficiency and insulation, and that economies of scale would hopefully bring down construction and installation costs. Would he go back to his old pad? “God no,” he said.
Tenant Jean Evans said the Tesla storage battery and other energy efficiency equipment took up a fair bit of space, and that she had had some teething problems after moving four months ago from Pontarddulais. But she said she knew who to phone to sort them out, and that the bungalow was warm, quiet and had a walk-in shower.
Mrs Evans said she made the most of her bus pass and had got to know people in the community. Asked if she would rather be back in Pontarddulais, she said she did miss her old neighbour, but that her former council house wasn’t suitable as stairs were becoming unmanageable.
She added: “My friend – my old neighbour – came to see the bungalow, and she was really chuffed.”
The council’s financial contribution to the West Cross scheme has come from housing rents. Apprentices gained valuable experience on the project, building one of the bungalows and the reclaimed stone wall bordering the rear gardens.
Back at the meeting of full council, Labour councillors including West Cross ward member Rebecca Fogarty offered their support for the project, calling it an investment in people and the planet.
Cllr Lewis, meanwhile, said 8,500 people were currently on the council’s housing waiting list – a situation she described as a crisis.
“When you build quality homes, you build a quality community,” she said. “People will want to stay, and not move on.”
