Work is progressing well on eight former garage sites across Coventry.
Housing association, Citizen, is working with Excelsior Land and LoCaL Homes with support from Coventry City Council to build 19 properties at eight sites across the city including Whoberley, Stoke Aldermoor, Bell Green, Holbrooks and Cheylesmore.
The homes are being built using timber frames which is a modern method of construction. The frames are built in the LoCaL factory in Walsall and are transported to the sites in Coventry where they are then assembled and built by Excelsior Land.
There are several benefits to using timber frames including speed of build and sustainability – a new tree is planted for every tree that is felled to build the timber frame and there is very little waste.
Executive Director of Development at Citizen, Nick Byrne, said: “Work is progressing really well on our garage sites across Coventry.
“We’re working with our partners to provide much needed housing in the area alongside transforming former garage sites.
“Using timber frames as a Modern Method of Construction at this site will help produce less carbon dioxide emissions as opposed to traditional brick. The homes are also assembled on site quickly which means they can be built at a much faster pace compared to traditional build.
“We also chose timber frames for the garage sites as they have limited access and space to store materials, so by using this construction method the homes were able to be built effectively.
“At Citizen we are committed to working with our partners to make a positive difference to our customers and are looking forward to seeing these homes progress.”
The homes at the sites will be a mix of one and three bed houses as well as one and two bed bungalows.
Councillor Naeem Akhtar from Coventry City Council said: “I was really impressed when I saw the way the homes are built. I visited the site on Henley Road in Bell Green and saw a derelict site now set to provide homes for families in Coventry.
“There is a real need for good homes in Coventry, and as a partnership with Citizen, this highlights our commitment to find innovative ways of building houses where they are most needed.
“Social housing is a real priority for the Council, and I’m delighted to see the progress that Citizen and other partners are making on the garage sites. I spoke to the workers on the site, and they are impressed with speed the properties go up and how little waste is generated.”
Katie O’Cearbhaill from Excelsior Land said: “Excelsior Land are delighted to be partnering with Citizen to provide much needed homes in the Coventry area. All of the homes we create are low carbon and this scheme is no exception.
“We pride ourselves on working with our clients to regenerate local communities, and reduce crime hotspots by transforming these challenging garage sites into first class accommodation for the local residents. We are currently running 13% ahead of our programme schedule and attribute this to the positive partnership and proactive collaboration between Citizen Housing Group, LoCaL Homes and Excelsior Land.
“Regenerating local communities using brown field sites is important to Excelsior Land and we look forward to carrying out many more projects like this!”
Mike Doolan, Sales and Partnership Manager at LoCaL Homes added: “We are delighted to be working with Citizen, Coventry City Council and Excelsior Land to deliver 19 new, thermally-efficient home which will meet a variety of housing need across the city.
“Our off-site manufactured Eco-200 timber frame solutions, complete with brick slips, reduce construction time on site and produce less waste when compared to traditional building methods. This brings both environmental benefits and results in quicker handovers. The future occupants will be paying, on average, lower fuel bills thanks to the thermal-efficiency of our fabric-first approach.”