Housing association set to bring 16 sustainable houses to Middleton

Housing association set to bring 16 sustainable houses to Middleton

Housing association, First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) is bringing 16 new, sustainable, affordable family houses to Middleton, transforming a brownfield site off Oldham Road.

The social landlord is in contract with Greater Manchester based developer, KMM Homes to deliver the mixed tenure scheme of highly energy efficient homes, designed with a range of green credentials.

The £4m project has received £1.1m grant funding from Homes England and is part of FCHO’s continued investment to deliver 1,100 new, affordable homes in Oldham, Rochdale, Tameside, Kirklees, and Calderdale between 2020-2026 to help meet housing need and improve the lives of local people.

The Oldham Road development will consist of six two-bedroom, four three-bedroom and six four-bedroom family houses. Eight homes will be for affordable rent, set at no more than 80% of market rent and eight homes will be marketed under FCHO’s Fabric Living brand for shared ownership – making home ownership possible for more people.

Timber frames for the new homes will be made off-site using sustainably sourced materials and each property is set to achieve Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) B to help residents minimise energy consumption and keep bills down.

Green features include a low carbon electric heating and hot water system, as well as double glazed, energy efficient windows and high-performing wall and roof insulation to prevent heat loss and gain for year-round comfort.

Landscaping and tree planting is also planned at the development, along with bug, bee, bat and bird boxes to promote biodiversity.

Work started on site earlier this year and homes will be ready for customers to move into in summer 2024.

Joel Owen, director of development at FCHO said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with KMM Homes on this project, which uses modern methods of construction to help us keep up momentum on the supply of new affordable homes, while reducing our environmental impact and helping customers to save energy and money into the future.

“It means we now have 107 properties, a mix of apartments and houses for affordable rent and shared ownership, under construction across four sites in Heywood and Middleton to help meet high demand in the area - and we’ve delivered a further 49 more properties across the borough since 2020.

“The Oldham Road land and package deal marks the second time we’ve collaborated with KMM Homes and through this continued relationship we are pleased to be improving the lives of more local people and moving closer to our ambitious targets in our development strategy.”

Elsewhere in the Rochdale borough, FCHO is due to finish its 30-home Boothroyden Road build in Middleton, delivered with Elan Homes, later in the spring. Work is underway on 40 one and two-bedroom apartments at Rochdale Road East in Heywood with Challenger Building Services. Additionally, the social landlord is in contract with Kellen Homes for 45 two and three-bedroom family houses at Kellen Homes’ 311-plot Mill Vale development.