Westmorland and Furness Council officers have used delegated powers to approve plans to buy homes in Penrith using money intended to help deliver affordable housing in the former Eden district along site a government grant for the project.
The council will purchase up to four properties through the Government's Local Authority Housing Fund Round 4 programme, with the homes to be used for families arriving under the Afghan Resettlement Programme.
While the Government is contributing £480,959 towards the scheme, the council will also use around £400,000 from its Affordable Housing Funding to complete the purchases of the properties and the refurbishment of them.
Affordable Housing Commuted Sums are payments made by developers instead of providing affordable homes on housing developments. The money is intended to be used to support the delivery of affordable housing.
The council currently holds £1.29 million in these funds, but the council has said that "a significant element of the Eden commuted sum funding available expires in 2027 and is therefore at risk of having to be repaid if it is not spent."
Officers are now using money collected from development in the former Eden district as match funding for the Government-backed refugee housing programme.
The council said it had explored other options before deciding to buy existing homes.
House builders with developments in Penrith and Kendal were approached about increasing affordable housing but no positive responses were received. Officers also looked at modular housing, but concluded there were no suitable sites available, leaving open-market purchases as the only practical solution.
The exact properties have not been disclosed publicly because parts on commercial grounds. However, the council has confirmed the acquisitions will be within Penrith and two wards in Kendal and funded through a combination of Government grant and Affordable Housing Commuted Sum receipts.
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