A £10 million scheme to build the first council houses in a generation is being considered.

The possible investment is revealed in the small print of one of Brighton and Hove City Council’s largest contract tenders.

The £300 million programme will renovate all the city’s 12,000 council houses.

Contractors are warned in the tender documents that the council may build £10 million of homes in the future.

The Argus first revealed proposals for new council housing in November.

Councillor Mary Mears, then head of housing, said under-used sites on council estates could provide land for new shared home ownership schemes, where the council and buyer share the costs of the property.

The homes would be aimed at young families and the rent returned to council coffers to subsidise repairs elsewhere.

The last council home built in the city is believed to have been in Lintott Avenue, Whitehawk, in 1988.

The council was left with a multimillion-pound funding black hole after tenants last year voted against transferring properties to a housing association.

More than 6,000 flats and houses in the city do not meet the Government’s decent homes standard and need repairs by 2010.

The £300 million investment will focus on a new standard, which will prioritise the work residents want.

Contractors will also be forced to take part in apprenticeship schemes to generate jobs for residents.

Councillor Maria Caulfield, cabinet member for housing, said: “Our priority with these contracts is to improve the housing stock we have and bring all our tenants’ homes up to standard.

“The aim of the long-term contracts is to reduce costs and achieve high standards in the day-to-day repairs and work programmes carried out by the council.”

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