Eddie Hughes MP, recently visited two affordable housing developments in his constituency, Eagle Works in Willenhall and Canalside Close in Blakenhall, to observe progress made on construction.
The two developments are owned by GreenSquareAccord, one of England’s largest housing and care providers, and will deliver a combined total of 84 affordable homes.
Eagle Works, located on Somerford Place, will see a former factory transformed into a thriving living space containing 51 homes. The homes will be comprised of single bed and two bed apartments in addition to houses with two, three and four bedrooms.
GreenSquareAccord’s, Head of Development, Mike Nolan said: “I am delighted to say that spades are now in the ground at both Eagle Works and Canalside Close. Our new developments are good news for Walsall residents as we will be providing more than eighty affordable homes which are sorely needed.
“With a range of homes available, across both sites, from one-bed flats to four-bed houses, our new ventures will meet a variety of local housing need. In addition to reducing pressure on greenfield sites this development will be built using cutting-edge and environmentally sound techniques.
“A lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes to get us to this point and I am grateful to both our development partners, Keon Homes and Fitzpatrick Group and to Walsall Council for their assistance.”
The Canalside Close development will provide 33 affordable homes on disused industrial land close to the Wyrley and Essington canal. The housing scheme will be comprised of one and two bed apartments alongside houses with two and three bedrooms totalling 33 new and fully affordable.
Commenting on progress made to date at both the Eagle Works and Canalside sites, Eddie Hughes, MP for Walsall North said: “I’m pleased to see these new developments across both sites that transform derelict and unused land to create much needed housing for local families.
“The former Eagle Works was a blight to the town and the transformation into modern and sustainable homes will bring new life to Willenhall. The Canalside site has been a hotspot for fly tipping and anti-social behaviour so the addition of these new homes will completely transform the area.”
All the new homes across both schemes will be built using low carbon LoCaL Homes Eco-200 off-site closed timber panel system, which will reduce construction times on site, and achieve savings overall in terms of carbon release. The external wall panels will have a brick slip system applied in the Walsall-based factory.
This will further improve both the quality and programme on site. Waste will also be dramatically reduced and will make for a much cleaner and safer site.
Sales & Partnerships Manager at LoCaL Homes, Mike Doolan said: “LoCaL Homes are really looking forward to commencing works on these two projects. There is a real need for high quality, energy efficient housing across these local Walsall communities.
“The rising cost of energy is a real problem right now, by using a fabric first design approach our LoCaL Homes offsite timber panel solutions provide high performing, low carbon homes which help to reduce overall household bills”.
