Combatting homelessness within Stevenage is a top priority for the borough council, following a public consultation.

This comes as a result of Stevenage Borough Council's consultation on several different housing developments in four different areas including The Oval, Cartref (Redcar), Ellis Avenue, and Kenilworth Phase 2.

Since February 2023, the council has organised 12 face-to-face events and encouraged locals to share their views via online surveys, resulting in more than 4,000 responses.

Councillor Jeannette Thomas, deputy leader and Housing and Housing Development portfolio holder, said: "Many parts of the UK are facing a housing crisis.

"We’re committed to building back better and greener, delivering more council homes and increasing our housing stock.

"Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to our consultations.

"It’s an important part of our process to ensure everyone has the opportunity to have their say on the proposals.

"All our new housing developments within Stevenage are highly sustainable with state-of-the-art technology that also helps to reduce running costs for tenants too.”

After four consultation rounds, detailed plans for The Oval have now been forwarded to the planning authority.

The remaining applications for the other three sites are due for submission in the upcoming weeks, with a final decision expected to be made by the Spring/Summer Planning Committee.