New homes for Hexham

A brand new £1m development of eight family homes is being planned by Milecastle Housing for the East of Hexham.

There is substantial demand for affordable family homes in the Hexham area and this redevelopment scheme aims to address that.

All the homes, to be built on Springfield Road, will be built to high standards of sustainability, with the latest technology used to ensure they are energy efficient and cheap to run.

Residents in the local area have been informed about the plans via letters and door to door consultation, and there will be an exhibition of the plans at No28, the estate house run by Hexham East regeneration officer Grace Burke.

The redevelopment work, if approved, will require Milecastle to re-house 10 residents, with a total of 12 outdated older people's bungalows due to be demolished.

The residents of these homes, 11-22 Holmdale bungalows, will all be offered suitable homes in the local area, in properties owned either by Milecastle or by other social landlords.

Milecastle expects this process to take around six months to complete, and its housing officers will make every effort to minimise disruption to the affected residents.

Each resident will receive a payment of £4,700 for the loss of their home, as well as compensate for the disruption of being re-housed.

Bill Tebay, managing director of Milecastle Housing, said: "We are really pleased to be bringing these plans forward on Hexham East.

"There is not much suitable family accommodation on the estate, so this development will help to tackle that situation.

"We regret having to ask people to move house, but bearing in mind the small size and condition of the bungalows, we think it is better to re-house the residents in more appropriate homes and re-build on this site with family homes which are very much in demand.

"We look closely at the costs of every development we are involved with, and we are confident these new homes for the East of Hexham represent the best use of public money."

Site investigations on Springfield Road will be carried out shortly, with contractors working on behalf of Milecastle set to drill bore holes, to check the condition of the ground.

Once those checks are complete, a planning application will be submitted to Northumberland County Council.

When the 12 existing bungalows are vacant, Milecastle plans to demolish them, to be replaced by the eight new family homes.

The new houses will be a mixture of sizes, six with three bedrooms and two with four bedrooms.

The development is being funded by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the former Tynedale District Council's Enabling Fund, and Milecastle's own resources.

The new homes will be made available to rent via the county-wide Northumberland Homefinder scheme.

One of the criteria for allocating the homes will be whether the applicants have local connections. Existing tenants from the surrounding estate will be able to apply.

It is hoped work could begin in April 2010 and would take about a year to complete.

Milecastle has been planning redevelopment work in this area for several years, but it has taken a lot of work to identify a suitable site, organise finance and consult with council planners.

As part of its development plans, Milecastle will be making a 'sport and play' payment to Northumberland County Council, to pay for suitable facilities for the local community.