Local Labour councillors Steve Fritchley, Sandra Peake and Liz Smyth recently visited the new Bolsover Homes house-building scheme in Whaley Thorns.
The developments is not like other housing developments as it is the first Future Homes scheme in the District. They are being built with timber frames and low carbon heat sources in line with the Future Homes Standard and will provide fully electric homes, making it easier to heat and potentially reducing household bills.
Steve said, “These are the first council properties to be built in the village for decades and back up our commitment to provide good quality homes in areas of need. Not everyone can afford to buy a house nowadays, that’s why we are continuing to invest in building top class homes council homes for local people to live in.”
At a time when the Conservative government can’t agree between themselves what their house-building targets are, your Labour Council is investing £36million into its Bolsover Homes scheme, which aims to build up to 400 council properties over a four year period.
The development on the Woodlands - which follows on from the 37 new properties built in Whitwell –will see two bungalows and 17 two-storey houses built on what was previously wasteland.
Sandra said, “We want people to be able to live close to their family and friends in the village they grew up in, so we have looked at where there is a shortage of housing to meet local demand and that is where we are building. The development is coming along very well and we are hopeful that the first ones will be ready for people to move into soon.
By utilising modern methods of construction (MMC) where the buildings are constructed off site in a quality-controlled factory environment, the impact construction has on the environment through less traffic, less waste and greater efficiency can be limited and controlled better.
Liz said, “I am a big fan of MMC as it reduces the amount of time construction takes, it is more environmentally friendly and they are more energy efficient. This is the first time we are using timber frames so we will be watching progress very carefully and if successful we can roll this out to other areas across the district.”