Roofs starting to be installed on new Wolverhampton council homes
Roofs are starting to go on the first new council homes built on a Wolverhampton estate for more than five decades since it was first opened by royalty.
The Heath Town regeneration scheme will see a mixture of 40 two-bedroom and four-bedroom council houses built over various sites across the area.
They will be built across three sites on Hobgate Road and one site on Tithe Croft, off Chevril Rise, by contractors EQUANS, council chiefs have said.
It forms the first phase of a scheme to build a total of 200 new homes on the estate, opened by HRH Princess Margaret in 1969, over the coming years.
Nine sites in the area will be developed, with the scheme already seeing vacant buildings being torn down and improvements made to existing residential blocks.
All of the homes will have their own parking space and the majority will come with gardens, with the first houses set to be completed by early next year.
Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for city assets and housing at Wolverhampton Council, said: “We are making great strides in our transformation of Heath Town and it is wonderful to see the roofs starting to go on the first new council homes.
“One of our key priorities is to increase the number of decent and affordable homes available in the city. This development will certainly help us achieve that and I am looking forward to seeing the first tenants moving into these fantastic new homes next year.”
Other works already completed as part of the redevelopment include the demolition of walkways and garages in the Hobgate Road area of the estate and the refurbishment of the ground and lower ground floors of Ling House to provide new office, meeting and activity space for Hope Family Centre. Three new play areas and a football pitch will be built through the scheme.
Simon Hoult, project manager at EQUANS, said: “It’s great to reach this important milestone on the project.
“We are proud to be able to use our community regeneration expertise to support our partners in their ambitious plans for Heath Town, and I’m sure these much-needed affordable homes will create a place that the new residents can be very proud to call home.”
The Heathfield Park Neighbourhood Plan was said to be "one of the main drivers" for the remodelling of the estate. Residents, consulted through the neighbourhood planning process, prioritised new affordable family homes as well as play areas and improved security.
