England
New affordable homes were launched in the Royal Docks regeneration zone, Silvertown, as the results of the survey by East Homes that shows nearly 60% of Londoners think the part-buy/part-rent scheme will soon be the only viable option for first-time buyers to get on to the property ladder.
The homes at Silver Dock Court are part of the regeneration sweeping Silvertown that will transform the area with a mix of residential, retail and entertainment facilities, as well as create a new transport infrastructure. Silver Dock Court will provide 19 homes through New Build HomeBuy. The apartments are built to a high specification and there are good transport links, being just a short walk from King George V DLR station which connects to Canary Wharf in 15 minutes and City in just half an hour.
Home Housing, in partnership with the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, completed 23 affordable family homes in Bradford.
The scheme is a Section 106 agreement that forms part of Barratt and Persimmon's development comprising hundreds of properties. The land used to be the site of a former reservoir.
This is the second phase of affordable properties to be provided by Home on the development and comprises 23 two and three storey, three and four-bedroom family homes. The scheme cost nearly £2.7m, including Housing Corporation funding of just over £1m.
The first phase was completed in 2003 providing 36 homes for rent.
Thirteen of the new homes are rented, now fully occupied and managed by Nashayman - Home's Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) specialist. The remaining ten are available through Home's shared ownership initiative.
Bourne-based Larkfleet Homes started work on building affordable homes for Muir Group Housing Association at Harlaxton, near Grantham.
Larkfleet has designed and is building the 29 homes. The development comprises a range of two or three bedroom houses and bungalows. It consists of both rented and shared ownership dwellings and homes will only be available to local people with a direct connection to the village.
Muir Group will manage the properties. South Kesteven District Council will nominate prospective tenants.
Hastoe Housing Association appointed ISG Jackson Special Projects for a £1.2 million project with the not-for-profit association in Ashill, Norfolk. The highly sustainable development of 12 new affordable homes will be completed in just 35 weeks.
The homes will be constructed using off-site manufactured, pre-insulated timber frame panels, which will be delivered to site and craned into position. This construction method is not only more sustainable than traditional building techniques but also dramatically reduces the overall build programme.
Dwellings will be highly insulated to minimise heat loss and reduce heating costs for residents, with solar water heating panels installed on the roof to provide a sustainable hot water system. Large glazing panels will be installed on the southerly facing elevations, to enhance the flow of natural light within the buildings.
Rainwater will be harvested in water butts to irrigate gardens and minimise storm water run off. A pond will attract wildlife and a three metre wide environmental strip to the boundaries of the site aims to encourage species diversity.
Derwent Living launched Nottingham's latest scheme for students in Trinity Square - a £70 million large-scale mixed-use development incorporating shops, offices, and hi-tech student accommodation.
The Derby-based housing provider is managing the accommodation and has developed accommodation for 699 students who will take up residence in the September 2008 intake.
Trinity Square is the first development to be funded by The Beach Student Accommodation Fund - the first UK property fund investing solely in student accommodation.
Kettering Borough Council approved the free transfer of land at three sites in the south of Kettering to LHA-ASRA Group, which has secured funding from the Housing Corporation to support the cost of a 29-home development. The Council opted to transfer the land for free in order to facilitate the development of affordable homes.
The new homes will meet level five of the Government's Code for Sustainable Homes. Proposed features include special 'super-insulated' masonry, ensuring the homes remain cool in the summer, and store heat for release in the evenings, avoiding temperature extremes.
The homes will be available for rent and for shared ownership through the Housing Corporation's New Build HomeBuy shared ownership scheme.
It is also planned to install innovative 'sunspaces' in every home. These unheated conservatory type spaces will act as a buffer between living space and the outside. Every home will also benefit from solar panels on the south facing roofs.
Biomass combined heating and power generation, which uses energy from renewable sources, will provide the development with heating. The biomass system will be housed in a feature building, which will also provide an educational demonstration area for the public. The demonstration area will be used for educational purposes, allowing the development to be used as a showpiece for contemporary ecological design.
Spire Homes and Rutland County Council started a new affordable homes development in Uppingham. The development will provide 16 shared ownership and 19 rented properties.
The scheme will benefit from a £30,000 grant from the Department of Trade and Industry to support its greener building policy. The funding is through the Low Carbon Buildings programme and will enable two thirds of the properties to benefit from solar water heating.
Cambridge Housing Society started work on its new housing scheme in Willingham, providing 19 affordable homes for rent and shared ownership, being built in partnership with Flagship Housing Group and the Housing Corporation.
The development will be completed in June 2009.
A2 Housing Group welcomed guests to the official opening of its affordable housing scheme in Slough.
The 75 new affordable homes in the town centre have been built by Linden Homes at a cost of £9 million, with £2.8 million contributed by the Housing Corporation.
The homes range from one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Of these, 52 are available for affordable rent. The remaining 25 apartments are for shared ownership.
HydeMartlet and Adur Council were set to build 40 new affordable homes for local people on the site of an old factory in Fishersgate.
Adur Council, working with the Association which owns the site, secured Government funding of nearly £2 million for the project. The Council is also contributing £400,000.
The homes will be a mixture of shared ownership and affordable rented flats and houses. The scheme comprises six two storey three-bedroom houses and 34 two bedroom flats.
Contemporary design features, such as differing roof heights, projecting balconies and a mixed use of materials and irregular form, will add interest and variety to the street scene.
The new homes are expected to be ready to move into by January 2010.
Scotland
East Kilbride & District Housing Association started the construction of 61 homes, of which 20 are to be sold under the Homestake scheme. The properties for sale, which will be initially targeted towards the Association's own tenants and those of South Lanarkshire Council, are programmed to be completed in phases between October 2008 and March 2009.
Glasgow City Council were considering the use of compulsory powers in a bid to progress a £39.5 million pound city regeneration project by Sanctuary Scotland Housing Association.
The Council's Executive Committee agreed a proposal to allow compulsory purchase orders to be raised on behalf of Sanctuary Scotland HA to acquire all outstanding houses and sites to facilitate the redevelopment of the site.
The scheme will see the site in the City's Anderston area cleared of the 495 houses currently there, to make way for modern better quality houses for social rent and shared equity purchase. Demolition and redevelopment of the planned 400 new houses will be phased over a five-year period.
Currently, negotiations are continuing with 50 of the 93 private homeowners that have not yet agreed to purchase proposals from Sanctuary Scotland HA. Options open to owners include receiving full market value for their property, opportunities to buy a new house in Anderston on a shared equity basis when they are ready, receiving fees and expenses for inconvenience and disturbance and receiving free rent decant accommodation until new housing becomes available. It is hoped that compulsory purchase orders will only be used as a last resort.
The site of the former Donside Paper Mill in the Tillydrone area of Aberdeen is to be transformed into a new urban village, following the granting of planning consent by Aberdeen City Council.
The 25-acre brownfield site will be turned into 278 new homes, making it the largest affordable home development ever seen in North East Scotland.
The Donside Urban Village will be developed on behalf of four social housing providers - Tenants First Housing Co-operative, Aberdeenshire Housing Partnership, Grampian Housing Association and Langstane Housing Association - under the partnership umbrella of Devanha Ltd.
The land for the development was purchased by Devanha with support from the Scottish Government's Housing and Regeneration directorate.
The Donside Urban Village will be a mixed tenure development providing affordable homes along with a number of properties for private purchase. Combining flats with two, three and four-bedroom family homes and gardens, it has been designed to reflect a traditional North-east townscape, with a grid of streets connecting the main village square, the various neighbourhoods and a number of courtyards and open spaces.
The plans also include some office space and business start up units, along with provision for neighbourhood shops.