A housing association has started work on a social housing development in the West Midlands.
Platform Housing Group – which has its headquarters in the Midlands – has started work on 80 new homes in Dudley, the first time the social landlord has built in the town. The development will offer a mixture of affordable homes for shared ownership and rented units.
The homes – which are due for completion in summer 2022 with first handovers in the winter of 2021 – will be made up of 59 for affordable rent, 10 shared ownership and 11 rent to buy.
The scheme – which is costing £12.3million – has been made possible by grant funding from Homes England, Recycled Capital Grants Fund and Platform Housing Group funds.
Those involved in the new development include the developer – and architect – Village Partnerships Ltd, employer’s agent GRM Associates, engineer Banners Gate and Dudley Borough Council.
The site – which formerly housed Midland Electricity Board – MEB – offices and facilities and has been waiting for redevelopment for 8 years – will comprise a mixture of one to four bedroom homes and one and two bedroom flats.
The development and the site is part of a larger plan to regenerate the area.
Martin Wright, Project Manager at Platform Housing Group said: “These new homes will form a high quality and sustainable affordable housing development that meets the needs of local people and, importantly, help regenerate the area. Ensuring people have access to social housing is of vital importance in today’s world. We look forward to completion of the project and welcoming residents into their new homes.”
Councillor Laura Taylor, Cabinet Member for Housing, Communities and Residents’ Welfare at Dudley Council said : “Housing is such a massive part of our plans to regenerate and improve Dudley. We have more than £1billion worth of schemes well under way and it is vital we think about housing to complement these. I am delighted to see this important development well underway and potentially bringing more people to our borough.”
Platform Housing Group – which owns 46,000 homes in total – completed 1448 homes in 2019/20 (1,598 in 2018/19) at an investment of £258m (£228m in 2018/19). The Group also built more social rented homes – at a figure of 981 – during the past 2 years in England than any other provider, 523 in 2019/20, almost 33% of the total homes built.
Platform Housing Group’s operating area is from Herefordshire in the West to the Lincolnshire coast in the East, and from the Derbyshire Dales in the North to the Cotswolds in the South.