NEARLY £6million is now being set aside to allow a council to buy 19 privately-owned homes as part of a renewal project in Taunton.

Somerset West and Taunton Council is regenerating a large number of homes in the North Taunton area, demolishing or refurbishing “defective” Woolaway homes which were built after the Second World War.

It says the scheme remains on budget – despite more money recently being allocated to its initial phases.

The regeneration project will be completed in five phases over ten years at a total cost of £45m – with £7.2m originally being earmarked for Phase A.

But the phase A budget has now increased to £8.7m, with more money also being set aside to buy up privately owned homes in the later phases of the scheme.

The council has said this additional funding will come from within the £45m original budget, and that it would closely monitor the cost of the scheme as it moved forward.

The funding of the North Taunton Woolaway Project was discussed by the council’s executive committee when it met in Taunton on November 20.

An additional £1.5m will be provided for Phase A of the scheme, which comprises the building of 27 new homes and a community centre.

A further £5.7m is being set aside to allow the council to purchase 19 privately owned homes within the areas covered by Phases B to E.

Jane Windebank, the council’s development manager, said this funding would “alleviate the requirement for timely and costly compulsory purchase orders” on these properties”, which could delay the scheme and cause costs to rise.

She added in her written report: “Additional funding is required to cover the higher than originally estimated costs associated with gaining vacant possession of the site, additional professional services to provide expert reports required to clear planning conditions and the likely increase in build costs for Phase A.

“If the additional funding is not provided, there will be insufficient funds to complete this phase of the project.”

Each of the five phases has outline planning permission, with the details of each phase being agreed by the council as it comes forward.

The council’s planning committee approved the detailed proposals for Phase A when it met in Taunton on November 14.

The scheme as a whole will deliver 276 new homes – increasing the council’s housing stock by 86.

Of the £45m originally agreed for the project, around £32.5m will come from external borrowing, along with nearly £9M from the council’s existing reserves and almost £3.5m from the right-to-buy scheme (which allows council tenants to buy their properties).

A council spokeswoman said: “The supplementary budgets (additional monies) for Phase A and Phases B to E are being drawn from the previously approved total cost of the North Taunton Woolaway Project, estimated at £45m.

“The estimated funding of £45m agreed by the shadow full council in February 2019 was based on a number of indicative costs.  As with any new development, there is a risk of increases in costs which may become apparent as the scheme develops.

“Estimates for price inflation have been included in the budget. We will continue to monitor and verify the cost estimates at each phase of planning and delivery of the scheme.”

The funding changes agreed means that just under one-third of the £45m budget for the scheme has now been allocated.

Construction of Phase A of the site – including the demolition of existing properties – is set to begin in the spring of 2020.