143 new homes to replace demolished estate ‘on the doorstep of town centre’

Council leaders granted planning permission and work is expected to begin in the autumnDiggers will break ground on a project to rejuvenate a Stockton estate with more than 140 homes this October.The £18.7m redevelopment of the Victoria Estate was given planning permission for 143 new two, three and four bedroom homes last week. Stockton Council agreed to borrow £1.6m for the project last year, joining a partnership with housebuilder Keepmoat Homes to rebuild on the town centre site.Bungalows are set to feature in the new estate with council bosses aiming to complete the whole project in June 2023. Council leaders heard building work would start on the site this autumn at a meeting last Thursday.The council is set to receive 30.6% of any profits from the scheme.A sale centre is set to open on the site in March next year with the hope of selling homes in May 2020.Site investigations are also being carried out on the former Elm House site by social housing giant Thirteen to work out its own proposals. Richard McGuckin, head of economic growth and development at Stockton Council, told cabinet members legal arrangements between the council and Keepmoat had been tweaked.Rather than a joint venture company running the scheme, a “collaboration agreement” has been reached to save on costs. Demolition work on the former 1960s estate behind Stockton High Street began in 2013 – with 250 homes eventually bulldozed.