£4m boost for eco-home project

A 32-home eco development is to be built in Carmarthenshire after Cartrefi Croeso, Carmarthenshire County Council’s new housing company secured a £4m funding package.Welsh Government included the Burry Port Garden Village development in its £43m Innovative Housing Programme grant, announced by housing and regeneration minister Rebecca Evans.The proposed scheme – subject to planning approval – will create 22 two-bedroom family homes and 10 one-bedroom apartments on land next to the existing Plas Y Mor Extra Care Scheme in the town.Designs have been drawn up with environmentally-friendly features including solar panels and Welsh timber, both sourced and manufactured locally, that will help residents save up to £1,000 a year on energy bills.Pre-planning consultations have already begun, and subject to planning approval, the build could start as early as next Spring.The homes will be developed by T? Solar and TRJ Construction Ltd.A large proportion of the homes will be manufactured in a newly established factory in Ammanford, which will also create new jobs, and 80 per cent of the raw materials and the labour will be locally sourced to help sustain local businesses.