Government plans for extra public sector housing to be built over the next nine years could end up being higher than the confirmed 155 units.

Currently only 33 elderly people’s housing units and 122 general housing units are pencilled in the capital projects up until 2027. Several years are currently blank.

But Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer, who was responding to a House of Keys question from Lawrie Hooper (LibVannin, Ramsey) explained that a number of other projects could well come forward.

Mr Harmer said: ’The public sector housing development programme is a rolling programme over five years, which is reviewed and revised annually to incorporate new development or acquisition proposals brought forward by the sector.

’This allows housing providers to come forward with proposed schemes to reflect changes in demand and property types to meet their need.;

Mr Hooper had asked how many units of general public sector housing and elderly people’s housing the government planned to build over the next 10 years, ’excluding refurbishments and replacement of old stock’.

In his answer, the figures given by Mr Harmer cover from this year up to and including 2027 and he said they were based on the current five-year rolling programme ’as it stands today’.

That programme was ’reviewed and refreshed every year with each housing provider, hence this is a snapshot at this point in time’.

The minister said: ’In addition to these units, there are likely to be properties brought forward via Section 13 agreements, where planning agreements bring forward opportunities to acquire up to 25% new-build affordable properties from private developer-led housing schemes of eight or more units.’

He gave examples of where this has happened in the past three years. They include six units at Traie Twoie at Shipyard Road in Ramsey for Ramsey Commissioners; 23 units at Ballawattleworth, Peel, for Peel Commissioners; 24 units at Ballakilley in Port Erin, for Port Erin Commissioners.

None of those was identified in the previous five-year rolling programme, he said.

Despite it being a five-year rolling programme, the figures given by Mr Harmer also included 43 new public sector housing units in Castletown, over 2026 and 2027.

Mr Harmer explained: ’This is because it is a project of such magnitude that the Treasury approved business case includes for the entire eight-year development programme.’