PLANS to build more than 700 homes across Southampton as part of a multi-million pound investment are set to be given the green light.

A total of 726 homes are set to be built in the city as part of a move expected to create 1,089 jobs.

All of the new homes will be affordable, civic chiefs said and there will be a mix of council rented and shared ownership properties.

The location of the new homes is yet to be revealed.

But they will mainly be on council housing land, city bosses said.

A £144m spending plan to deliver the scheme is set to be approved by councillors at Southampton City Council during a meeting of the Cabinet on July 14 and at full council on July 15.

The scheme is part of the 1,000 council homes programme pledged by Labour councillors in 2018.

Civic chiefs said so far 274 homes have either been delivered or are under construction. These include homes at Townhill Park, Potters Court and the former Oakland’s Community School site in Lordshill.

The remaining 726 are expected to be delivered by 2025.

The construction of one and three-bedroom homes will be prioritised to meet the need of those on the housing register, the council said.

Stakeholders and public are also set to be engaged once further details will be available.

Cllr Satvir Kaur, cabinet member for homes, said: “Southampton’s Labour Council have put in place an ambitious programme to deliver 1,000 good quality, energy efficient, affordable council homes for Southampton people. These homes will not only help address local housing needs but also help stimulate the local economy by creating over 1,000 local jobs and apprenticeships.”

She said to be pleased that the proposals have also been welcomed by the opposition group.

But Cllr Dan Fitzhenry, leader of the Conservatives, said he will ask for reassurance over cost, time scale and affordability.

He said: “We want reassurance that these are going to be actually affordable for the people we are building them for. We welcome the commitment to build new affordable homes but it has taken eight years to get to this stage.”

Figures published this year revealed that in 2018-19 the city council exceeded its home-building target set by the government and managed to match its requirements every year since 2016-17.

The new plans will be scrutinised by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee tonight but behind closed doors.

Cllr Steven Galton, chair of the committee, said: “I am always keen to hold as much of our meetings in public. One of the issues with remote meetings is the technology to allow us to move from a public to a confidential session.”

Due to the need to ensure the confidential information is only discussed by those entitled to receive it and the fact nearly every aspect of this item links to one of the confidential papers, we have taken the decision to hold the 1000 Homes Programme item entirely within a confidential meeting.