Work underway at ‘vital’ Sunderland housing scheme

Sunderland City Council has started work on 12 new apartments for supported living on James William Street, Hendon.The one-bedroom homes – contained within one apartment block – will be made available for rent as part of the local authority’s £59m Housing Delivery and Investment Plan (HDIP), which saw the council return to housebuilding in 2019.The HDIP aims to provide good-quality housing for affordable rent – 80% of market rent – to vulnerable people across Sunderland, as well as converting empty properties into attractive family homes.Each of the properties at James William Street, which is due for completion by autumn 2023, have been designed to provide long-term accommodation, helping residents make the transition from a supported housing environment to independent living in their own property.An additional on-site apartment will provide overnight accommodation for support staff, who will be on-hand to assist residents living in the apartments.The scheme will be low carbon and benefit from renewable energies to assist with fuel poverty.The development is being delivered by Yorkshire Dwellings Limited, with £420k funding support from Homes England.Councillor Kevin Johnston, dynamic city cabinet member, said: “Our housing development team works hand in hand with adult services to understand the needs of the city’s vulnerable adults and older people and that insight is driving the schemes we build or buy, ensuring we have the homes needed to help everyone access housing that supports and enables them.“I am really pleased to see work get started on these apartments at James William Street, which will help us enable more residents to live independently, with the right support available to them.“Our intervention is vital in creating the dwellings that people with support requirements in this city need.”Plans were approved for the scheme in March last year.It is the second HDIP development to progress in the East End, with phase two of Valiant Close (formerly Cork Street) set to complete later this year.The HDIP sets out plans to bring forward 193 accessible properties by 2025.It also aims to deliver 210 general-needs homes through conversion of empty homes across the city.The council says it will place further focus on supported accommodation, designed to help people who are taking their steps towards independence or who are at risk of homelessness, targeting 171 supported homes by 2025.So far, the council has spent or committed £23m of the £59m it has allocated for this project.