An offsite housing manufacturer has worked with a Coventry housing association and its partners to help provide 19 properties at eight sites across the city.
LoCal Homes, owned by Green Square Accord, worked with Citizen, Excelsior Land, and Coventry City Council on the project.
The new homes have been built on disused garage sites across the city including Whoberley, Stoke Aldermoor, Bell Green, Holbrooks and Cheylesmore.
The homes were built using timber frames manufactured in the company’s Walsall factory and were transported to the brownfield sites where they were then assembled and built by Excelsior Land.
Mike Doolan, sales and partnerships manager at LoCaL Homes, said: “We are delighted to have been a key delivery partner on this development which deployed a creative use of brownfield land to address local housing need. With construction complete, we have helped provide 19 new affordable homes across eight locations in Coventry.
“Our off-site manufactured Eco-200 timber frame solutions, complete with brick slips, helped speed up construction time on site and produced less waste when compared to traditional building methods. The incoming residents can expect to pay lower fuel bills thanks to the thermal-efficiency of our fabric-first approach.”
The homes built on the former garage sites have now been completed and the keys have been handed over to resident – marking the completion of the development.
Nick Byrne, Citizen’s executive director of development, said: “It’s fantastic to hand over these homes to our customers across our eight garage sites in Coventry. This is a great example of working with our partners to make a positive difference to people living in our communities and we have also transformed brownfield sites across the city to help provide more affordable homes.”
Across the eight locations the homes provided are a mix of one- and three-bedroom houses, as well as one- and-two bedroom bungalows.
Salma Mbarouk, a Citizen resident, who recently moved into one of the homes with her husband and two children, said: “I love my house so much – it’s nice and cosy and it’s warm even with the heating is off. I can’t fault it. It’s beautiful and amazingly done, my kids love it and it’s their safe place.
“Our previous house was too small, and I was sharing a room with my 10-year-old daughter. This is the first time she has been able to sleep in her own room – she loves having her own space. The garden and the kitchen are my places in the house. The garden is spacious, I can put my children’s toys out there and I love cooking which I can do in the kitchen. When I moved in here, it felt amazing.”
Main image: Salma Mbarouk, a Citizen resident, meets representatives from Coventry City Council, Excelsior Land, LoCaL Home, and her social landlord
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