Plans for £1.3m development look promising

Plans for £1.3m development look promising

Pickering and Ferens Homes is delighted to announce that its bid for the funding of 10 new eco-bungalows for the over-60s has been approved.

The Homes and Communities Agency has approved a bid for £539,000 from the National Affordable Housing Programme for the £1.3m development on the former Rokeby House site, which would be carried out in partnership with Hull City Council.

A planning application for the new development has been submitted and, if approved, work could start before the end of March on the homes that will be for rent.

The dormer bungalows will have the option for people to have a bedroom on the ground or first floor, making them suitable for any resident regardless of mobility issues.

The second bedroom also enables a friend or relative to stay to assist a resident during a period of ill health, avoiding the use of residential care or an extended stay in hospital.

The homes will be built to Lifetime Homes standards which means they are built to accommodate daily living needs as people get older such as wide doors and hallways, space for wheelchairs, easy to open windows and switches and sockets at a height that are usablefor all.

Roger Elliot, Director of Pickering and Ferens Homes, said: “We are delighted that the grant from the homes and communities agency has been approved and that the scheme is on schedule to be progressed. We are very pleased to be working in partnership with Hull City Council on this project and we anticipate that the work will be undertaken by a local contractor which will help provide much needed work in the area. The work could commence on site at the end of March and would be completed 12 months later. We anticipate a tremendous demand for the accommodation.”

Pauline Davis, Director of Regeneration for Hull City Council, said: “It is fantastic news that the Homes and Communities Agency has approved this bid, which will offer the right kind of accommodation that meets the needs of older residents to enable them to live independently in their own homes.”

Rob Pearson, head of area at the Homes and Communities Agency said: “I am really pleased that, once planning is approved, our grant will not only ensure that these 10 new homes will be built but also that they will exceed the current standards ensuring not only better homes for the residents but also lower heating bills.”

The scheme architect is Hull-based Gammond Evans Crichton Limited.