The site of a former catholic church and school in Benton is set to make way for 36 new affordable homes.
North Tyneside Council has earmarked the site of the former St Peter and St Paul Church, west of Benton Lane, for new social housing and is working with North East-based contractor GLC Projects to complete the demolition and remedial works.
The former Church has been vacant for several years, with the site becoming a target for anti-social behaviour and vandalism. To address local concerns, the Council stepped in to purchase the property with support from the North East Combined Authority’s Brownfield Housing Grant.
Pending planning approval, the development will be made up of 16 two-bedroom houses, six three-bedroom houses, four two-bedroom apartments, as well as four one-bedroom accessible apartments, and six two-bedroom accessible bungalows.
All of the homes will be let at social rents and built utilising green technologies without gas.
Karen Clark, North Tyneside’s Elected Mayor, said: “One of my main priorities as Elected Mayor is to increase affordable and social housing in North Tyneside, so I’m delighted to see sites like this progressing.
“It’s a fantastic feeling as a social housing provider to be able to take a brownfield sites like this former church, which has been vacant for such a long time, and convert it into high-quality, affordable homes for our residents to live in.
“It’s not just about the physical homes. These projects create communities. We will continue to put our residents first and this scheme will provide much needed safe, healthy and affordable homes”
Graeme Cochrane, Director of GLC Projects, added: “We are proud to be involved in such a transformative development project for the local area, and are looking forward to seeing North Tyneside Council progress with their exciting plans for the future.”
Once completed, the new homes will be made available for social rent at affordable prices through North Tyneside’s Homefinder. Information on timeline for completion will be released upon the outcome of the planning application.
The development ties in to the Council’s existing Affordable Homes Programme, which aims to create 5,000 affordable homes in the Borough. To date, the programme has delivered over 2,400 affordable homes across the borough.
ENDS