£2.4m eco-friendly west Hull development nears completion.

£2.4m eco-friendly west Hull development nears completion.

A multi-million pound green housing development in west Hull is well underway and close to completion.

Housing association for the over-60s Pickering and Ferens Homes is driving forward the £2.4m redevelopment of the former Charles and Esther Jacobs Homes in Askew Avenue.

Once complete, the scheme – which has been designed by Hull-based architects Gammond Evans Crichton and also built by Hull-based construction firm Hobson and Porter – will comprise 20 two bedroomed energy efficient bungalows.

Roger Elliot, director of Pickering and Ferens Homes, said: “We were delighted with progress on this exciting new development at our most recent visit to site. The construction work is progressing well and is well on track for completion in March 2013, thanks to the excellent work of Hobson and Porter on site.

“East Yorkshire is leading the way when it comes to renewable energy at the moment and Pickering and Ferens Homes is keen to contribute to this. The properties at Charles and Esther Jacobs Homes have been built to the highest standards of energy efficiency.

“Not only does building homes of this quality reduce our reliance on the production of electricity through the burning of fossil fuels, but importantly for the people who use our homes, it reduces their energy consumption and subsequently their bills in the long term.”

The energy-efficient properties are being fitted with high levels of thermal insulation to floors, walls and roofs. They will also have triple-glazed windows and water butts to collect rainwater in.

The development programme was started after Pickering and Ferens Homes – a non-profit making registered housing association – amalgamated with the Charles and Esther Jacobs Homes in September 2008.

The charity contemplated renovating the properties but took a decision to demolish and rebuild after discovering a number of buildings on the site were suffering from subsidence and all required extensive refurbishment throughout.

Once complete, the properties will all face on to a central village green with private parking and enclosed front and rear gardens.

Jason Papprill, Managing Director of Hobson & Porter, said: “We are very pleased with the progress on site since work started in April 2012. Work on the properties is now well advanced and we look forward to completing and handing over these purpose-built new dwellings for the residents of Pickering and Ferens Homes.”