DISUSED SITE TO BE TURNED INTO ‘FAMILY HOMES FOR THE FUTURE’
Work starts on new £1.5m housing estate
WORK has begun on building homes for families to rent – right opposite a school.
The eight properties, each boasting three bedrooms, will be completed in Gloucester Road, Kidsgrove, next year. They will come with rental charges that are capped at 80 per cent of the local market rate.
It is part of a £1.5 million scheme taking shape on a site which used to contain rented garages and is near to Kidsgrove Secondary School.
Stoke-on-trent North MP Jonathan Gullis, who represents the town, was on site to witness the first spade being put into the ground at the development.
He said: “Old, disused land that’s sitting here doing nothing is turning into high-quality family homes for the future.
“Whether that be for people from Kidsgrove or whether that be for people from Manchester, you know, we should be part of that Manchester commuter belt story.
“We’re seeing in neighbouring Cheshire and Alsager, where that’s already happening.
“A big part of regenerating and turning around places like Kidsgrove and Talke is by putting new, highquality housing on sites that are just sitting redundant.”
Mr Gullis said that if people are to be attracted into the area, they need to know local schools are good and that they’ve got access to a GP and local hospitals.
He acknowledged that people would like to own their own home, and said he bought his first home in Talke and is proud to live in his constituency.
Asked about affordability, he said: “House prices are on the up, which is a good thing. That’s something we should celebrate in our local area.
“We’re at the bottom end of the scale of the moment. We saw what happened in Manchester, we’ve seen what’s happened in Birmingham.
“If house prices go up, it helps with gentrification of a local area, it helps with inward investment, it helps improve the local economy.
“Those are all things we should celebrate, and local people are seeing their salaries go up as well.”
The new development in Kidsgrove is one of several schemes planned by Aspire Housing.
The firm’s group chief executive Sinéad Butters said: “There is a growing demand for affordable homes of all types in Newcastle borough and family homes are no exception.
“With great local amenities, including shops, schools and public transport, this is a fantastic location for modern, high-quality family homes, and these new houses will meet and exceed that need.”
The company is investing £1.5 million into the scheme – which includes a £320,000 grant from Homes England.
Homes England is a public body which is responsible for increasing the number of new homes built in England, as well as increasing the supply of public land that can be built on.
The site was bought from Newcastle Borough Council by Aspire Housing, which manages about 9,000 homes in Staffordshire and Cheshire.