£2.7m funding agreed to build HUSK fabricated bungalows in Amble
by James Robinson · ChronicleLiveNorthumberland County Council's cabinet has agreed a plan to fund the development of a series of new bungalows in a popular seaside town.
The £2.668 million plan will see four plots of council-owned garages in Amble redeveloped into 15 bungalows. The bungalows will be built using a concept developed by North East firm HUSK, which uses the brick skin of the existing garage alongside an additional section, fabricated offsite form the new one and two-bedroom homes.
The proposals were approved by the North Northumberland Local Area Planning Committee in May, and now the cabinet have agreed to fund the proposals. The houses will have an estimated weekly affordable rental income of £112.04 each - leading to a net profit for the council within 30 years.
Speaking at Tuesday's meeting of the council's cabinet, portfolio holder for housing Coun Colin Horncastle praised the design of the bungalows.
He said: "HUSK is a product made offsite and brought onto these sites to redevelop the garages. It is an absolutely wonderful product.
"We have spoken to tenants living in these homes elsewhere and they're first-rate buildings. They are energy efficient and zero carbon,
"They will be a great addition to our affordable housing stock. I fully support this scheme."
Council figures show that there are currently 189 applicants on the local authority's homefinder register in Amble who are either over 60 years old or have an "identified ground floor need" and would therefore meet the criteria for bungalows. Recent bidding on two-bedroom bungalows in the town has seen 135 bids per property, showing a significant housing need for this type of scheme.
Coun Jeff Watson, cabinet member and councillor for the Amble West with Warkworth ward, added: "I just want to welcome these Bungalows into Amble.
"The garages were dilapidated and not being used, so to get homes which are in really short supply - we really need homes like this. It is really good we are able to do this to satisfy existing need."
HUSK has already delivered similar projects across the North East, including in Newcastle, County Durham and North Tyneside.
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