TWO Portland homes bought by a council should to be used for affordable housing according to local councillors.

The properties in High Street, Fortuneswell, are now going on the market.

Weymouth and Portland borough councillors say their preference would be for the properties to house local people who might otherwise struggle to get a home. One report suggests the plot could provide 6-8 homes.

Underhill councillor, Paul Kimber, says using the site for social housing would be his preference: “We have got to try for affordable: social housing is what the area badly needs.”

One of the houses, No 11, is in a dangerous state and has been propped up since 2009. It was bought two years ago using the council’s compulsory purchase powers.

Cllr Kimber says the council let the owner of the adjoining house down by not buying her home sooner.

“She was begging for the council to buy her property so it could redevelop the whole site but in the end her mortgage was foreclosed. We let the lady down, terribly. All this started some years ago.”

The semi-detached at number 11 was bought by the council in October 2016. It had paid to shore the building up since 2009 because it was unsafe for those passing on the street and an adjoining public footpath. Although figures are not revealed the council says it spent more making the house safe than it is worth.

The adjoining house, No 9, was bought by the council for £122,000 in January this year from the mortgage lender so that the two houses could be redeveloped together.

A report to the management committee said: “The council acquired no 9 High Street because refurbishment of No 11 alone is not a viable option, confirmed in earlier reports by the district valuer.”

Cllr Sandy West told the committee she was keen to ensure the site was used to benefit Portland people, rather than it become another case of what she described as “the asset stripping of Portland.”

She said: “It was such a shame nothing was done for so long…I’m disgusted it has taken three years to do this.”

Cllr Ray Nowak was also disappointed that finding a resolution had taken so long: “I fear the opportunity of creating affordable housing could have been missed.. it’s a sad reflection on the council.”

But borough strategic director Martin Hamilton said the council’s hands had been tied for much of the time and only recently had been able to unlock the site for new housing. He said there was nothing to stop the council giving preference to an affordable housing scheme.

Cllr Jeff Cant said: “It’s a blighted site. Let’s do what we can to stop it being a blighted site.”

A move from Cllr Gill Taylor to give preference to an affordable housing provider was approved.

Exploratory talks will also be held with the Portland Land Trust to see if it is interested in the site. The borough council has recently approved giving£50,000 to the trust to help provide local homes for local people.