City of Lincoln Council is proud to announce the official opening of its first A-rated EPC social rent council homes, delivered in partnership with Homes England and local developers JST Homes.
Located on Boultham Park Road, on the site of the former Victory Public Hotel, these nine high-quality, energy-efficient family homes represent a major milestone in the council’s ambition to redefine the future of social housing in the city.
Each home on the newly completed development has three bedrooms and has been built to the highest sustainability standards. The homes are EPC-A rated with solar PV panels, air source heat pumps, high levels of insulation, and electric vehicle charging points.
These are the first A-rated EPC homes in the council’s housing stock and set a new standard for all future developments under the council’s Housing Asset Management Strategy.
All nine new homes are being delivered for social rent, which is 60% of the local market rent, helping meet the city’s growing need for affordable family housing.
The project was made possible through a successful joint funding bid between City of Lincoln Council and Homes England via the Affordable Homes Programme 2021–2026, with Homes England contributing £1,004,120, equating to 40% of the overall cost.
Cllr Donald Nannestad, Portfolio Holder for Quality Housing at City of Lincoln Council, said:
“We are incredibly proud to celebrate this milestone. These homes are not just bricks and mortar; they are family homes and form part of the wider community by leading the way on effectiveness and efficiency to supporting the council’s goal to achieve net zero carbon by 2030.
“We thank Homes England and our Housing Strategy Team for their commitment, and JST Homes for setting an exemplary standard for what good-quality housing on smaller sites can look like.
“Our Business Plan aims to enable 1,700 affordable homes over the next 30 years. These homes are providing additional housing in an area of high housing demand making use of underutilised land and improving the street scene in this part of the city.
“They are the first A-rated social rent homes in the city, and we hope they will be the first of many.”
With over 2,000 applicants currently on Lincoln’s housing list seeking housing assistance, the delivery of these homes provides essential relief amid a national and local housing crisis.
Seven of the homes have been allocated to existing council tenants through a local lettings plan, allowing those households to move into homes better suited to their needs while freeing up other properties for new applicants. The remaining two homes have gone directly to applicants on the housing register.
This new allocation approach, first trialled at Hermit Mews in 2024, is already proving successful, having housed 29 households from just 11 new builds at that site, allowing tenants to move into properties with the right number of bedrooms for their needs and freeing up other homes in the council’s stock for reallocation.
The Boultham Park Road homes also directly contribute to the council’s net zero carbon ambitions by 2030 and support a live/walk/work lifestyle, being ideally located near schools, shops, and recreational facilities like Boultham Park, and the city centre.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to officially open the site, attended by key representatives from Homes England, JST Homes, and staff and members of the city council. Tenants have now begun moving into their new homes, marking the start of a new chapter, not only for the residents but for Lincoln’s housing future.