Work has begun on Exeter’s first council homes for 20 years, and to mark the occasion, there will be an official earth cutting ceremony taking place at the Merlin Crescent site at 3pm today (Tuesday 13 April).
Twenty one homes have started to go up at Merlin Crescent and Sivell Place, following a city council initiative supported by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).
When complete, the homes will offer affordable rented accommodation for Exeter people, particularly those downsizing from larger family-sized properties.
They are amongst the first homes in the South West to be supported by the HCA’s Local Authority New Build initiative, which is investing in the delivery of hundreds of new council homes across the South West.
The houses will be built to sustainable and energy efficient standards, and have been designed by eco-architects Gale & Snowden, winners of many awards for ‘green’ social housing designs. They will all be super insulated with triple glazing and use a mechanical heat recovery ventilation system, preventing the need for conventional heating systems. This will enable fuel costs to be kept to a minimum, and the homes to be comfortable to live in.
Currently there are around 5,700 households on the housing register and of those 550 are in the greatest level of need. There are more than 100 potential homes being designed to these standards across eight council owned sites at various stages of design and planning.
(from a press release)
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