By Ian Austen

ian.austen@essnmedia.co.uk

Ambitious plans to expand a programme of building new council houses has been boosted by an injection of more Government cash.

The Government has recently given the council £5.5 million to enable it to start work on nine out of 12 housing projects it had lined up.

Now, according to cabinet member for housing Dudley Mead, an extra £750,000 Government grant is coming Croydon's way.

This has come following a council decision to alter slightly the remaining three schemes and a lack of interest in taking up available grants by other local authorities.

The council has already completed 32 eco-friendly homes in West Croydon and on New Addington's Fieldway estate.

London mayor Boris Johnson has visited the new family homes in Sumner Gardens, West Croydon, and the council remains hopeful his enthusiasm for the scheme may result in further funding.

Cllr Mead said: "There are plans for a further 54 homes and flats and this extra £750,000 will enable us to increase that total to 64.

"I have said I hope to have 100 new homes completed or under construction by the time of the council elections next May and we are well on target to achieve that."

The new developments will concentrate on providing family homes for which there is a desperate need across the borough.

In addition, Cllr Mead said, the council is experimenting with a bungalow scheme in Gorse Road, on Shirley's Shrublands estate.

He explained: "We are trying to encourage older people to move out of larger houses into new properties, allowing the bigger premises to be released for families."

Homes already completed have built-in energy saving devices, including wind turbines.

And Cllr Mead wants all the new homes in the pipeline to be built to the highest ecological and technological standards.

Cllr Mead said: "The only stipulation is that we have the homes occupied by the end of 2011 which should be no problem.

"There have also been indications that if we have any more sites in mind the Government will look closely at proposals.

"We are carrying out an exercise to see if we can find some more."