New Bowthorpe homes bought by Norwich City Council

Council leaders said the deal for the homes at Bowthorpe is an early benefit of the controversial county deal, which, if ratified, will see government powers passed to an elected leader of Norfolk County Council.

It had already been announced that Norwich City Council had been provisionally awarded £2m for the homes, but the location - at Bowthorpe - has just been revealed.

Norfolk County Council bid for the cash during the negotiations on the in-principle county deal devolution agreement, signed last December.

Gail Harris, deputy leader of Norwich City Council (Image: Submitted)

Gail Harris, deputy leader of City Hall and portfolio holder for social housing, said: "I’m pleased we have been able to work in partnership with the county council to secure money from the devolution deal to go towards an ambitious proposal to deliver excellent new homes at Bowthorpe, helping us to address some of our pressing needs to provide affordable housing in Norwich.

"It’s great the city council’s robust financial position means our housing revenue account allows us to match fund these proposals to the tune of £2.1m – this enables us to deliver a total of 24 homes built to high environmental standards, helping people make significant savings on their energy bills."

Bowthorpe (Image: Mike Page)

The affordable homes are currently being built by City Hall's own company NRL Ltd.

Affordable homes are ones available to those whose needs are not met by the market.

Subject to final agreement later this year, the county deal will hand the county a £600m investment fund, although the deal has been criticised as unambitious by some.

County council leader Andrew Proctor said: "We have worked closely with Norwich City Council to identify opportunities to do this and I’m delighted the government is providing £2m to make it happen."