Stunning drone footage has captured the progress being made on a major affordable housing development in Middlesbrough.
Our 296-home Hillside Gardens development, on Grove Hill, consists of two, three and four-bedroom houses and bungalows, all for affordable rent.
And more than half have now been completed, with the rest due for completion this summer.
Sharon Thomas, our chief investment and property officer, said: “We’re investing well over £100million across our ‘big three’ housing sites in Middlesbrough and delivering a total of 546 new homes for affordable rent.
“Our Kedward Avenue and Union Village developments, in Brambles Farm and Gresham, are fully occupied and it’s great to see lots of happy people moving into their new homes on Hillside Gardens.
“But there’s lots more to be done. There are about 13,000 households on council waiting lists for housing in Tees Valley and we need to close that gap between supply and demand as quickly as possible.”
Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke said: “Hillside Gardens is an exciting development that is already having a positive impact on Grove Hill.
“The houses are really eye-catching and aspirational – I’d like to wish everyone moving into their new homes all the very best for the future.
“We’ll continue working closely with Thirteen on providing the different types of housing that Middlesbrough people need right across the town.”
The Hillside Gardens development has been supported by Homes England’s Affordable Homes Programme and a £2.8million contribution awarded by the Tees Valley Combined Authority from the government’s Brownfield Housing Fund.
The name “Hillside Gardens” was chosen by children from Beech Grove Primary School.
A Local Lettings Policy is place for the development, which sets out the criteria for how homes are allocated.
As part of this, preference is given to people who have a local connection to Middlesbrough.
The homes on all three of our major Middlesbrough developments have been built by North East-based Esh Construction.
Mark Binns, Operations Director at Esh Construction, said: “Reaching this major milestone at Hillside Gardens is a significant moment for everyone involved. Handing over these high quality, affordable homes on a site that lay vacant for more than a decade underlines our shared commitment to creating sustainable communities that will benefit the area for generations to come.
“As we move towards completing the remaining homes this summer, Hillside Gardens also marks the final phase of three key projects delivered for Thirteen Group in Middlesbrough which has brought more than 540 new affordable homes to the town.”
Drone footage courtesy of Esh Construction/Chapman Brown Photography.