A step closer to new affordable housing for the city

Work is beginning this month on more than 100 new homes, to be constructed on former garage sites across Norwich.

The work, to be completed in partnership with Orwell Housing Association, is being funded from the groundbreaking agreement between Norwich City Council and the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) - the government's housing and regeneration body.

It will be undertaken by construction company ISG Jackson, commissioned by Orwell Housing Association. The firm is already on site at the first of 18 individual projects - on Friends Road - and the final home of the final project will be handed over by summer 2012.

The largest site is on Bowers Avenue, where seven new houses and eight flats will be built. 12 flats are to be constructed on Exeter Street and a row of six terraced houses built on The Avenues.

Leader of the council Brenda Arthur said: "It is really good to see work starting on these homes. The demand for affordable housing is growing and these homes will be built to higher development and environmental standards than most private sector homes. "During the course of the building work, training opportunities for new apprentices who want to learn construction trades will also be opened up on the sites. "I'm proud the council is part of this innovative agreement, which gives us the chance to create both high quality lasting affordable housing and better employment prospects in our city."

The 108 affordable homes are planned as a mix of flats and houses. A number of the properties will feature roof-mounted photo-voltaic cells and rainwater harvesting and re-use systems - meaning they meet the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4 standard.

The sites are scattered throughout Norwich in different areas, and each site has been designed differently to reflect its surroundings and blend seamlessly with nearby properties.

The partnership intends to generate long-term employment and training opportunities for Norwich residents not currently in work.

The building contractor will use an employment and skills package, working with the Norwich-based Construction Training Specialists, an organisation that specialises in training and supplying apprentices to the construction industry, and the Norfolk Construction Forum who are made up of people from the construction industry.

As result, six to ten employment and training opportunities will be created, with the first apprentices on site from early June.

Mike Goulding, HCA area manager for Norfolk, said: "Jobs and homes go hand in hand, so it's really important that we make sure there's provision for the local job market as part of this project. We are also delighted that this part of the overall eight million regeneration plan for Norwich is underway."

Norwich City Council was the first council in the country to enter into a strategic partnership with the HCA. The HCA invested £8 million into Norwich and the city council invested a number of sites for new homes around the city, which are being jointly developed. More than 1300 new homes and hundreds of new jobs are expected to be created over the next decade.

Of the £8 million, £5 million capital has been used to deliver strategic regeneration projects. As well as the Memorial Gardens, £300,000 has been used to construct Norwich Skate Park, £250,000 to complete youth venue Open 24/7, £75,000 to complete St John's Cathedral visitor centre and £1.75 million to eco-retrofit around 800 council properties.

This article first appeared on the Norwich City Council Website

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