Kier North Tyneside has begun work on a development of 41 new and affordable homes for North Tyneside Council in the heart of Wallsend town.
The scheme will create new jobs and help in the regeneration of the area while providing residents with much-needed homes.
Located on the site of the former Wallsend Police Station and family centre on High Street East, the development is due to be completed in spring 2016.
All the ground floor apartments and houses have been designed to achieve Life Time Home standards—a design code enabling conversion of the home in the future.
The work is part of North Tyneside Council’s ten-year drive to create 3,000 extra affordable homes across the borough and will also contribute to the ongoing regeneration of Wallsend town centre.
Elected Mayor Norma Redfearn said: “This is a milestone project for affordable housing and the regeneration of Wallsend, and we’ve worked closely with the local community to plan this development.
“As demand for housing continues to rise in North Tyneside and many of our residents struggle to secure suitable homes, we are determined to do all we can – by working with our partners and in innovative ways – to create the homes that local people need and want.”
Kier operations director, Jon Rukin, said: “We are proud to be working with North Tyneside on this exciting development; it offers an excellent opportunity to use our expertise from across Kier’s divisions to deliver much-needed new affordable homes in the Wallsend district.
“We have worked closely with the Council to develop high quality, thermally efficient designs, which recreate the traditional terraces of Wallsend and will provide secure and economical places to live for residents.
“We are also looking forward to delivering further projects within the borough as part of the Council’s long-term housing programme.”
There are at least 5,000 individuals or families currently on North Tyneside Council’s housing waiting list, and the authority predicts that it will need to create around 500 new homes each year to keep up with increasing demands.
North Tyneside Council’s drive to create more affordable homes will focus on providing the types of homes that are most in demand, particularly one-bed properties, bungalows and family homes; the work will particularly support those who haven’t got the means to buy or rent a home on the open market.