The first 11 affordable homes being built as part of an £8.1m government-backed scheme will be completed by the end of the year.

Norwich City Council is buying 24 homes at Three Score in Bowthorpe, as part of an early benefit of the controversial county deal, which, if ratified, will see government powers passed to an elected leader of Norfolk County Council.

Officials hope 11 of the homes will be ready for new tenants by the end of 2023. The 13 remaining homes will be finished next year.

City Hall has revealed the property mix will be 4 x 2-bedroom houses, 10 x 3-bedroom houses and 10 x 4-bedroom houses. 

READ MORE: Norfolk devolution deal decision process criticised

The total cost of the project is around £8.1m, with £6.1m coming from City Hall and the remaining £2m from the government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

All of the 24 properties will become council homes for those on the housing waiting list.

Gail Harris, cabinet member for social housing, previously told her colleagues that the short time frame the government had set meant it was "impossible" to build from scratch. 

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