More homes on a new estate in Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, are set to be offered at a discounted rate to first-time buyers.

Developer Persimmon Homes was given the go-ahead on Wednesday (August 23) to allow six properties in Meir to be sold as First Homes.

The Government-funded national scheme offers aspiring home owners the chance to snap up a property with at least 30% discount on the market value. To be eligible purchasers must be first-time buyers with a combined annual household income of no more than £80,000.

The approval from Stoke-on-Trent City Council's planning committee on Wednesday follows a decision in February to allow 15 properties on the Foxfields site to be sold as First Homes. But committee member Ross Irving called on developers to put forward such proposals earlier on in future.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council granted permission for the developer to sell six properties as First Homes yesterday (Nub News).

He said: "I welcome the scheme but I wish developers would make the decision at the start. This method of introducing this type of development part-way through a scheme could be perceived to be grossly unfair to people who bought their properties first."

First Homes buyers must have a mortgage to fund at least 50% of the discounted purchase price and the property must be sold for no more than £250,000 on its first sale. Planning authorities are also able to set local eligibility criteria for First Homes in their area – and Stoke-on-Trent councillors have previously called for a condition requiring buyers to have lived in the city for at least 12 months beforehand.

A report to Wednesday's committee meeting said: "The additional six properties proposed as First Homes are already constructed and so, if approved, they could be available to purchasers almost immediately. Officers recognise that this provision is the Government's preferred type of discounted market sale housing and to have more units delivered so quickly in the city is positive for prospective local purchasers."

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