Council bid for more housing cash

The former velodrome on Saffron Lane is one of the sites being considered

A council has agreed to sell four areas of land for £1 each - in a bid to help build 134 affordable new homes.

Leicester City Council wants to secure a share of £750m in government funding.

The sites would be sold to local housing associations which could then apply for funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

They include the former velodrome site on Saffron Lane and land in Braunstone, Hamilton and the former Whittier Road allotments.

'Difficult times'

Planning permission would still need to be obtained for any developments to go ahead.

Council leader Ross Willmott said the scheme could provide more than 130 affordable homes in the next 18 months.

He said: "If the housing associations' bids are successful, they will also provide a boost to the local economy, particularly the local building industry, during these difficult times."

The HCA money is only available for housing that will be completed by March 2011.

The authority could nominate people from its council house register for some of the housing properties.

It said the sale of the land would be conditional on the housing associations securing the HCA funding.