FIVE new council-built homes in Jaywick that have failed to sell on the open market will be kept by Tendring Council.

The council built ten new homes, costing £3.3million, in Lotus Way as part of a bid to regenerate the village's Brooklands area.

Five of the new homes are now council housing while the other five houses were to be sold with a price-tag of £200,000 - a discounted price for key workers.

But the price was still considerably higher than other nearby properties on the market and after more than a year they have failed to sell.

The council said there was interest in buying the properties, but largely from people ineligible under the policies adopted so they would benefit local residents.

The council’s cabinet has now agreed to keep the homes within the council’s stock for its own tenants, subject to agreement from Homes England, who provided part of the funding to build them.

Paul Honeywood, cabinet member for housing, said the homes would be welcomed by tenants on the council waiting list.

“While we looked to sell these to local people and key workers in our district, having them available to rent for our tenants is still a success,” he said.