Member Article

Dangerous building to make way for new homes

A dangerous Durham building is being demolished to make way for a £5 million regeneration project.

The site of Cheverley House in Belmont will be redeveloped as 26 new homes – around a fifth of which will be discounted by as much as a quarter to provide much needed housing for local people.

The old building was formerly operated as a council care home but it closed last April after concrete cancer – cracking and flaking – was discovered.

Now, the 1.4 acre site, off Brackendale Road, is being transformed into a cul-de-sac residential development by award winning* Newcastle based All Saints Living. It will comprise two and three bedroomed apartments and three, four and five bedroomed houses.

And the company is seeking to source local suppliers to deliver the project, which will be known as Aidan Gardens. Wearside based demolition experts, Nordem has been engaged to start the process and Durham City based Ben Charles estate agents will sell the homes.

Pre-Construction Manager with All Saints Developments, Keith McDougall, said: “This will be our fourth development in the North East. We recently completed eight homes at Ashcroft Mews in Seaham and converted an 18th century pub and outbuildings in Rennington, Northumberland. We are also currently working on another conversion in Hexham.

“Our aim is to help meet the region’s housing needs with a cross section of property styles and prices, using locally based suppliers and labour wherever possible. We anticipate up to 50 people will be involved at Aidan Gardens.”

Under the terms of the planning approval, given by Durham County Council, a fifth of the homes will be discounted by up to 24% of market value and made available to local families that meet the criteria demanded by this government backed initiative to provide more affordable housing.

The homes will be on sale by Easter, with the first residents moving in by the Autumn.

All Saints Living carried out a string of successful development projects in Scotland - where it was awarded the Best Renovation title in the 2015 BUILD Real Estate and Property Awards - and Yorkshire, before launching operations in the North East.

It is part of The High Street Group, which was established by successful entrepreneur Gary Forrest in 2004 and has grown to become a leading financial and property group. It employs over 50 people and activities include financial claims, property development and developer finance.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Dobbie .