Not even the Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown could put the brakes on Hull City Council’s ambitious housing growth programme. This week, work has started on the latest phase, to build nine, modern new bungalows to rent from the council at Beckington Close and Plym Grove, Longhill.
The contract was awarded to Hull-based Houlton. The new homes at Beckington Close and Plym Grove have a contribution from the Humber LEP local growth fund, which is supporting housing growth in the city.
Since 2015, the council’s housebuilding programme has been transforming neighbourhoods across the city, replacing substandard properties with high-quality new homes to rent from the council. Since 2015, 445 new homes have been built for council rent and a further 480 are in the pipeline over the next five years.
Beckington Close and Plym Grove mark an important phase in the council’s ambitious housing growth plan. They are the first of the small site’s programme. These smaller sites will complement some of the larger new developments built by the council in recent years, such as Portobello Street, Ganstead Grove and Mildane which include homes to rent from the council. Being smaller sites, they are more accessible for small local building trades businesses to take on the contracts and make a valuable contribution to Hull’s economy by keeping investment local, providing quality homes and jobs for local people.
Commenting on these bungalow developments, Councillor John Black, Hull City Council Portfolio Holder for Housing said: “Developing bungalows is an important element of our housing strategy. All the new build bungalows in our portfolio meet high specification accessibility standards, which suit the needs of older tenants who may be becoming a little less mobile. In addition, they all have a second bedroom so a family member, friend or carer can stay overnight.”
Andrew Kingston, Managing Director at Houlton said, ‘‘Houlton are extremely proud to be part of the Invest Hull initiative delivering our second scheme of the small site’s programme in our home town of Hull, and we appreciate the efforts of the whole team in managing the design stages during the difficult period of lockdown. The homes will complement the existing street scene and will provide essential bungalow units for the East Hull Area.”
Most of Hull City Council tenants live in three-bedroom homes. Having bungalows as an option enables some tenants to downsize, thereby freeing up much needed bigger homes for families.
The council is continuing to buck the national trend for building council homes for rent by outstripping the national targets set. The next small site for bungalows to be built is Hopewell Road where work will run alongside larger scale current developments including Dane Park and Isledane in Orchard Park, and Preston Road and Grange Road on Bilton Grange.
