Residents have moved into fantastic new energy efficient council homes in Jay Court and Perching Court in Victoria Road, Portslade.
The 42 homes are a mix of one, 2 and 3 bedroom flats in our most sustainable new council housing scheme to date.
The homes have been designed to be light and energy efficient to help keep energy bills low for residents.
A ground source heat pump system provides heating and hot water for the homes as part of our commitment to cut carbon emissions.
Solar panels provide electricity for lighting in communal areas of the flats and for external lighting. The homes are also highly insulated.
The buildings feature planted ‘living’ walls, bat boxes and bee bricks to encourage biodiversity, and a landscaped communal garden for residents, with fruit trees and a wildflower lawn area.
The homes have been let to people on the council’s housing register. One family commented that their quality of life would be majorly improved by moving into their new home at Perching Court.
It is one of the largest schemes completed so far in our New Homes for Neighbourhoods building programme, providing much-needed new council homes for rent on council-owned land across the city.
The flats were developed through the City Build Strategic Construction Partnership, set up by the council to work with us on larger construction projects in the city.
The partnership involves constructors Morgan Sindall, structural engineers HOP, cost consultants Potter Raper, alongside other partners and sub-contractors.
Thanks to Morgan Sindall for providing the timelapse film of the development.
The Victoria Road development is built on the site of a former housing office and bowls club, behind Portslade Town Hall.
As part of the project, a new sports pavilion was built nearby in Victoria Recreation Ground and opened in 2021 to provide a new home for Portslade Bowls Club.
Facilities at the pavilion include an outdoor artificial all-weather bowling green, a short mat indoor bowls area, changing rooms, and a kitchen.
A small new outdoor space, with trees and seating, is also being provided for people using Portslade Town Hall and new artwork will be installed.
Completion of the development means that, including homes bought back through our Home Purchase Policy, we’ve delivered almost 500 additional homes over the past 4 years.
We’ve now bought 280 properties back to use as council rented homes since introducing the Home Purchase Policy scheme in 2017.
A range of other projects are underway or in the pipeline to develop new council homes, including:
Work is due to start on new council homes in Frederick Street in the city centre and in the summer on 3 homes in Rotherfield Crescent, Hollingbury.
Plans for 212 council homes and a new community hub in Moulsecoomb were approved by the Planning Committee in January.
A development of 104 new homes known as Quay View is now complete in Wellington Road, Portslade - the first development delivered by Homes for Brighton & Hove, a partnership between the council and affordable housing provider, Hyde.
The development of one, 2 and 3 bedroom flats includes 49 new council-rented homes at truly affordable social rents, with the rest available through Hyde as shared ownership homes.
Homes for Brighton & Hove is also building 242 low-cost homes in Coldean, which include 127 social council-rented homes. The development in Coldean Lane is due to be completed this autumn.
