Plans for a major new 180-home development in Matson, Gloucester, have been reapproved by Gloucester City Council.

Originally granted planning permission in 2023, housing association Bromford returned to the council this week to request amendments that will enable it to access funding from Homes England, the Government's housing delivery agency, to build 136 affordable homes on the site.

Bromford is one of Homes England's strategic partners and in 2021 received £240m to help fund the construction of 4,000 new affordable homes to the end of 2028-29.

Having had its plans reapproved by the city council, the Gloucestershire-based housing association's in-house construction team aims to start work on site next year.

The development will deliver a mix of 77 homes for social rent, 59 homes for affordable home ownership through shared ownership and 44 homes for outright sale. The properties will range from one- to five-bedroom homes, including 11 four-bedroom houses and one five-bedroom house which will be available for rent, helping meet the acute need for larger affordable family homes in the city.

Wyn Bevan, Bromford's head of development, said: "As a housing association our core purpose is to provide affordable housing to people who need it and that's exactly what we'll be delivering at this development in Matson.

"We have always been committed to providing 136 affordable homes at this site and thanks to Gloucester City Council's approval of our updated plans, we can begin preparing the site to start work next year.

"We're proud to be a strategic partner with Homes England and play our part in building new affordable homes to help alleviate the housing crisis. With their funding, this development will enable us to provide life-changing, high-quality, affordable homes for hundreds of local people."

Located on the southern edge of Gloucester, next to the M5, the development will feature energy efficiency measures including air source heat pumps and solar panels. At the centre of the development will be an open meadow, with the remains of a medieval moat. Bromford plans to enhance this area by providing new footpaths and information boards to create a community asset.

Bromford is the largest housing association in Gloucestershire, with more than 10,000 homes across the county. It's currently on site building new homes at a number of sites across the county including elsewhere in Gloucester, Winchcombe and Stroud and at the end of last month received planning permission for a 30-home development in Gloucester.

Bromford is part of Bromford Flagship which has more than 82,000 homes across central, south west and eastern England. It was recently named the third biggest builder of affordable homes in the country and over the past five years has been the biggest builder of social rent homes.

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