Nearly 100 new affordable homes are set to be built in Easington Village in an £11m construction project for believe housing.
A mix of family houses and bungalows is set to be built on the site of the long-demolished Easington working men’s club in Seaside Lane.
The plans were approved by Durham County Council earlier this year. A total of 96 homes will be built at the Seaside Lane site. They will include 28 two-bedroom houses, 54-three bedroom houses, six four-bedroom houses and eight two-bedroom bungalows. The project will also see a new public open space at the heart of the new community, creating a ‘village green’ feel.
Construction will be undertaken by County Durham based contractor, Esh Construction. Work on the first phase is expected to start in September 2020 and the first families are due to move into their new homes by the end of summer 2021. When completed, 36 of the new homes will be available for affordable rent. The remaining 60 will be offered under believe housing’s m!ne ‘Rent to Buy’ scheme.
The government backed ‘Rent to Buy’ scheme is 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.
The Easington Village project is just part of believe housing’s ambitious plans to meet demand for affordable homes. The Seaham-based housing association is on track to deliver more than 750 new affordable homes by 2022 in communities stretching from the Durham coast to rural Weardale.
believe housing Development Manager, Tom Winter, said: “It’s great to be getting work underway on this really exciting development. This is good news for local people looking for a high quality and affordable home, but also for the construction industry and local businesses at a time when they really need a boost.
“Our whole construction programme is designed to bring affordable housing to communities that really need it. Easington Village is definitely one of those areas, and I’m expecting there to be lots of interest in this project.”
Laura Devaney, Head of Land & Partnerships at Esh Construction, said: “We are delighted to see this scheme which has been long in the making finally come to fruition. The development is a result of a huge effort from the project team and I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in getting to this point.
“Thanks to our valued and long-standing partnership with believe housing and with the support of the local authority and Homes England, we are excited to bring our expertise to these high quality, modern homes where local people can feel proud to live. As always, we will maximise social and economic benefit in the community through procurement of a local supply chain and employing a local workforce.”
