Member Article

Construction starts on new affordable homes in Peterlee

Work has started on the first of more than 50 new affordable homes to be built in Peterlee as part of a £54m project.

A dozen three-bedroom houses are being built on vacant land in Matterdale Road by County Durham Housing Group as part of a major scheme that will deliver 545 new affordable homes across the region.

All 12 new houses in Matterdale Road will be available under the government backed ‘Rent to Buy’ scheme, intended to help tackle the housing crisis. Rent to Buy is designed to ease the transition from renting to buying a home by offering a reduced rent, usually around 20% below the market rate. The aim is to give people the opportunity to save for a deposit at the same time and buy their home after five years.

County Durham Housing Group Development Manager, Tom Winter, said: “Peterlee has a strong demand for affordable housing, so it’s great to be bringing our construction programme to the town.

“But Matterdale Road is just the start. In total we’ll be creating more than 50 new, affordable homes in Peterlee; that’s just short of 10 per cent of our £54m new-build programme.

“Rent to Buy opportunities on this site will help local families move up the housing ladder, in an affordable way, and contribute towards the long-term future of the community.”

County Durham Housing Group was also granted planning permission for a further 41 new affordable homes in Tamar Close and Teign Close earlier this summer. Work on this site is due to begin next year.

Construction at Matterdale Road is being carried out by north east based contractors T Manners & Sons Ltd. The long-established Bishop Auckland-based company has already completed bungalows for the group in St Helen Auckland and the remote Weardale village of Rookhope earlier this year.

Simon Manners, Joint MD of the family-owned company, said. “We’re really pleased to be able to continue our relationship with County Durham Housing Group. This is an exciting opportunity and we look forward to delivering another high quality project for the Group.”

County Durham Housing Group’s £54m affordable housing programme began during 2017 and will continue into 2021. The high-specification properties are helping to meet demand for affordable homes in communities stretching from rural Weardale to the Durham coast.

The first tenants will move into the new homes in Matterdale Road during 2019. More than 70 families have already moved into new County Durham Housing Group properties since the new-build programme started.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by believe housing .