Member Article

£3.5m development provides affordable housing on former studio site

Work has begun on a multi million pound affordable housing development on the former site of an iconic Newcastle TV studio.

Home Group has started work to build 30 new homes on the site of the demolished Tyne Tees television studios in the city.

The site of the studios, which were once the home to programmes including The Tube, will now play host to an affordable housing apartment block, student accommodation and a hotel.

The £3.5m affordable housing project, which is being supported with a £900,000 contribution from the Homes and Communities Agency, will see 16 homes built for affordable rent and 14 built for shared ownership.

Gosforth based Home Group has bought the land from Buccleuch Property and has appointed Esh Group to carry out construction of the homes.

Tony Osborne, Home Group development manager, said: “We’ve worked closely with Buccleuch Property to acquire a part of their site and we’re delighted to have started work which will provide desperately needed affordable homes close to the city centre.

“The regeneration which is taking place here will make this a very vibrant part of the city. We’ve appointed Esh Group to build these apartments for us which should be ready for people to move into later in the year. The shared ownership homes will help those struggling to get a foot onto the property ladder.”

Sandy Smith, Buccleuch Property’s development director, said: “The mixed use site will also include a hotel and student accommodation provided by U-Student, who have already acquired part of the site and are currently constructing a 385-bed scheme scheduled for completion in August 2014.”

The affordable homes will be two bedroom apartments and the development will also provide parking for 19 cars. To encourage environmentally friendly forms of transport a storage unit will be built for 24 cycles. The development is also a short walk from the Manors metro station which provides transport links throughout Tyneside and Wearside.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Graham Vincent .