Awards success for Newcastle Housing Scheme

One our recently completed housing schemes for Newcastle City Council has made the finals of the 2020 Northern LABC Awards in two categories! Best Social or Affordable Housing Development and Best New Housing Development.

The development, Brockwell Grove and Newbiggin Lane in the Westerhope area of the city is the first of five sites to have been completed in Phase 1 of Newcastle City Council's ambitious plans to increase its provision of new homes for older persons. The scheme provides 18 accessible homes for rent for older people, with a mix of six two-bedroom bungalows, six one-bedroom Tyneside flats and six two-bedroom Tyneside flats all designed to promote individual living and social inclusion. In total, phase 1 provides 148 new dwellings with a second phase due to add a further 199 new homes.

Main contractor Tolent, who nominated the scheme for the award said: "The project is of a robust and aesthetically pleasing design which caters to the varying needs of the residents. A traditional palette of materials has been used with pitched roofs on all properties and careful attention was paid to the positioning of the design elements to create a unified design which knits the different housing and residential units together. The development not only provided much needed high-quality accommodation, but also creates connecting areas for the residents providing a protected and introspective space for them to socialise and spend time."

Designed to Housing Quality Standard (HQM) 3 star, the amount of daylight in homes, air quality and green spaces were all carefully considered throughout the development. In addition electric charge points were provided to plots with in curtilage parking and ecological enhancements - bat and bird boxes, hedgehog domes and extra tree and shrub planting was included. PV panels helped to achieve an A-Rated EPC for all properties and at handover, end-users were given guidance on use of energy controls and ventilation to minimise their energy use.

The finals of this year's Northern LABC Awards will be a virtual event, scheduled for Thursday 24th September: we have our fingers crossed for success and wish all other finalists good luck.