Affordable homes are popping up all over North Tyneside as three schemes begin to take shape.
As part of the authority’s commitment to creating affordable housing, it set up its Affordable Homes Programme, aiming to create 5,000 affordable homes in North Tyneside.
And since then, over 2,300 have been created with another 1,700 set to come as part of phase one, then a further 1,000 as part of phase two.
Work is underway on two sites in Wallsend, with demolitions of the former Rosehill Social Club and an out-of-use office block, Parkside House, making way for affordable homes.
The former pub had been out of use since 2014 and the site had since become derelict, becoming a hotspot for antisocial behaviour and vandalism.
Following the site’s previous owner having difficulties maintaining and finding a renewed purpose for the site, North Tyneside Council stepped into purchase and earmark the site for eight new affordable homes that will be rented out as social housing for those on the Council’s housing register.
Demolition was completed in 2024 and a planning application has been approved to start work, which is now due to get underway in April.
And similar action has been taken with Parkside House, on Elton Steet. With the office building sitting empty for a number of years, the Council stepped in to acquire the site back in September 2023 thanks to funding from the North East Combined Authority’s Brownfield Housing Fund.
A controlled demolition took place at the end of 2024 and work is now set to get underway on creating eight new affordable homes on the site. The homes will be a mixture of one and two bedroom apartments.
The redevelopment of the site to provide high-quality housing for residents is part of North Tyneside Council’s Ambition for Wallsend.
Cllr John Harrison, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “As a Council, we have always been committed to creating high-quality, affordable home opportunities for our residents, so it’s really positive to see work getting underway on these sites.
“Demand for housing in North Tyneside has never been higher, so developments like this are needed and gives us an opportunity to transform a disused piece of land.
“Developments on brownfield sites like these are a great example of being creative and finding solutions for sites that would otherwise sit derelict, so I’m delighted to see them progressing.”
North Tyneside Council has also celebrated national acclaim in recent months. The authority claimed top prize alongside HUSK in the Innovation in Housing category at the MJ Awards 2024 for its work on Belshill and Blackhill Close, Wallsend, to take underused garages and turned them into stylish, high-quality affordable homes.
The site was redeveloped using HUSK’s patented method in which the garage roofs are removed, and the walls are retained. Prefabricated insulated timber framed walls are then erected with the elements of the home being created inside the void, including a kitchen, wet room, living and dining area. The design also incorporates a resident parking area and individual front gardens.
The homes are eco-friendly with an insulated timber frame and roof, air source heat pump, and solar panels to help reduce the electric bills for new tenants.
And following the excellent feedback both nationally and locally, North Tyneside Council are looking at working alongside HUSK on more sites across the Borough.
Previously, North Tyneside Council worked alongside HUSK on the newly-christened Falmouth Close, in North Shields – with the development winning ‘Best approach to modular housing’ at the Northern Housing Awards 2023.
ENDS