Thirty new homes are proposed for Newport. Developers Link Property Solutions plan to build a range of new houses on three acres of vacant land off Broomfield Road near the sewage works and adjacent to the south side of the canal.
Fifty per cent of the new builds would be affordable housing, with 16 three beds of varying size, nine two beds and five four beds.
The affordable accommodation will be subsidised from private sales rather than the usual route of government grants.
Two public meetings have been arranged to discuss the plans. The meetings take place at the Cosy Hall on Water Lane on Friday October 29 from 6pm to 9pm and Saturday October 30 from 9am to noon.
Link Property Solutions Director John Brown said: “We propose to use the profits from private homes for the affordable housing. It’s a new concept to address the shortage of affordable homes in Newport.”
Mr Brown said that a planning application could be submitted before Christmas with work commencing in summer 2011 – but only if the project receives public backing.
He added: “If we get the support and positive feedback we’ll be looking to push things forward fairly quickly.
“But we want to hear what the people of Newport think about the proposals.
“We are open to any ideas to incorporate into the proposals and really want to get the people involved.”
Opinion was mixed around the Broomfield Road area.
Broomfield Place resident Charlotte Nelson, aged 21, welcomed the idea.
She said: “I have been looking for a house in Newport for months, so I think this would be a good thing.”
But Broomfield Road resident Sally Wells said the area is already overcrowded.
She said: “There are already too many people here. At night it can be quite busy.
“It would change the nature of the area. At the moment the children are able to play football and learn to ride their bikes.
“If it was busier, that wouldn’t be possible.”
Mrs Wells also had concerns about the smell from the sewage works, which is just a stone’s throw from the proposed development site.
“Heaven help them,” she added. “Even from here the smell in the summer is bad some days.
“I once thought about moving it was so bad. I certainly wouldn’t want to live any closer.”
Planning specialist John Jowitt, of PJ Planning, said: “There is a severe need for affordable housing in Newport which has little prospect of being met.
“The site is appropriate for development, and it is original schemes of this nature that will help us to provide housing for future generations.”
By Sean Wozencroft