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£3.5 million eco village to create 450 jobs.

Work is set to begin on a £3.5m ‘eco village’ that will create the first zero-carbon homes in Redcar & Cleveland.

The project, which will see 26 new properties created, is at the heart of major regeneration plans for the South Bank community.

Fifteen new homes are being built and a further 11 terraced houses on Queen Street refurbished.

That scheme will create 450 jobs, with half of those guaranteed for the long-term unemployed through a special regeneration partnership with the Council.

Councillor George Dunning, Leader of the Council, said: “With the eco village, the new supermarket and other improvements being made, these are exciting times for Greater Eston and we look forward to these projects delivering major benefits for the community.””

The homes will come with triple-glazed windows and doors, photo-voltaic panels, composting facilities and a mechanical ventilation heat recovery system - technologies which will save householders an average of £1,000 a year on energy bills, compared to traditional properties.

The scheme, which is due for completion in March 2012, has received £936,000 in funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

Neil Cawson, investment and regeneration manager at the HCA,said: “With a range of energy-saving features, these will be among the greenest homes in the North East.

““Its exciting to see the first major development in the area for several years getting underway.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .