BASILDON Council is set to rubber stamp plans to form its own house building company.

An initial investment of £200,000 will be used to build 100 new council homes across the borough.

The company, which has been named Sempra Homes, will earmark sites such as dilapidated garage blocks and derelict buildings for development.

The business case looks set to be agreed by Basildon Council's cabinet at its next meeting on Thursday, December 4.

Sempra Homes also aims to deliver additional community benefits including reducing anti-social behaviour.

It has already pinpointed 10 sites across the borough for the first 100 homes, which would be made available to local families as affordable rent, private sale or shared equity.

Phil Turner, leader of Basildon Council, said: “This is an exciting time for the council and Basildon. It’s all about putting residents first and being in the driving seat when it comes to building new homes for local people, and we believe we are in the vanguard of local authorities doing so.

“The council has made a promise to its residents to positively transform the borough including the provision of diverse housing to give them a better choice “Where possible we will also encourage local contractors to bid for the construction contracts and encourage apprenticeship schemes to create opportunities for young people.”

The company will have a board consisting of Kieran Carrigan, commissioning director of resourcing and place shaping and Scott Logan, commissioning director for people and place.

There will be no directly employed staff, but Sempra Homes will have management agreements with the council to utilise existing council services.