Two Castles Housing Association is furthering its commitment to providing affordable homes for local people in Carlisle, after work started on a £1.65 million scheme at Newtown Meadows, Brookside.
The development at Newtown Meadows, which is being built in partnership with affordable housing developer Lovell and Carlisle City Council, is being supported by an investment of £325,000 from the Homes and Communities Agency’s (HCA) Affordable Homes Programme.
The scheme forms part of the ongoing regeneration of the area and will provide a further 13 new two and three-bedroom semi-detached homes to rent, for people in the greatest housing need.
Rob Brittain, property services director at Two Castles Housing Association, said:“Over the last five years we have successfully worked in partnership with both Lovell and Carlisle City Council to provide a range of affordable new homes in the area. This has included 26 new homes built in partnership with Lovell at its nearby Raffles development and a further 29 homes working closely with Carlisle City Council at Heysham Gardens.
“The overall transformation of the area has been hugely successful for building a range of much-needed mixed-tenure homes throughout the estate, whilst also breathing new life into the community.
“There is still a high demand for quality housing to rent across Carlisle, so we’re delighted for work to get under way as part of this new scheme which we hope will continue to benefit local people who need it the most.”
The development at Newtown Meadows follows the completion of a further four affordable townhouses for rent by Two Castles, built by Lovell on its nearby Raffles regeneration development, with the City Council.
The latest development, on further housing land brought forward in partnership by Carlisle City Council and Lovell, will see each property built to Level Three of the Code for Sustainable Homes and will include a number of energy-efficient features which will help to reduce overall energy bills for tenants.
Phil Houghton, Lovell area manager for Cumbria said: “Our construction team is proud to be starting work on this latest new housing development which will create further new high-quality, modern homes for people in housing need locally.
“The development continues our successful partnership with the community, Two Castles and Carlisle City Council, helping in the ongoing transformation of the area, and the delivery of a lasting regeneration legacy for Carlisle.”
Cllr Jessica Riddle, Portfolio holder for Communities and Housing, Carlisle City Council, said: “We are delighted that work is set to start on Newtown Meadows. This is a fantastic scheme that will provide 13 much-needed affordable houses for local residents in an area that, through partnership working and high-quality housing construction, has been transformed.
“Two Castles Housing Association, the Homes and Communities Agency, and Lovell are key partners of the City Council, and we hope to continue to work together to build more high-quality affordable housing for our residents.”
Deborah McLaughlin Executive Director for the North West at HCA, said: “It’s great news that work is underway on these much needed new affordable homes. This announcement is a major achievement for Two Castles Housing Association and reinforces both their and our commitment to improving housing provision for local people. This phase of development is a major milestone in the continued regeneration of the area and I look forward to working with partners on this phase of the development to deliver quality homes that meet local ambitions.”
For more information on Two Castles, visit www.twocastles.org.uk.