First new HMR homes in Rochdale
26th March 2007
West Pennine Housing Association has now completed a row of smart new three-storey terrace homes for rent on Halifax Road in Hamer, Rochdale, as part of the Housing Market Renewal Project’s plans to transform the area.
The new £967,000 development, designed by Denovo Design includes energy saving measures such as high insulation in the walls and roof together with double glazed windows – to cut fuel bills.
Tenants’ water bills will also be reduced because all the bathrooms will have low flush toilets, spray taps and showers – and rainwater from the roofs will be collected in butts for watering plants.
A terraced design was chosen to fit in with the style of the rest of Halifax Road as well as being thermally efficient. A new access road has been built at the rear with parking for residents and a communal space surfaced in coloured gravel.
Councillor Zulfiqar Ali, Rochdale Council’s Lead Member for Housing said, “It is very pleasing to see the first new homes completed as part of Housing Market Renewal in Rochdale. These are high quality and high profile homes that are a great advertisement for what the project is seeking to achieve. I am sure that the tenants moving in will find them great places to live, in an area where housing market renewal is already making a real difference”
Neighbourhood Programme Manager for Housing Market Renewal, Angela Forster said, “These properties are helping to provide a better mix of housing to suit the needs of local families. Halifax Road is the first of many housing projects the Pathfinder has in the pipeline to help transform neighbourhoods across Rochdale.”
Allan Ramsay, the Regenda Group’s Executive Director for Development, says that there is a high demand for large affordable homes in the area. He added: “There are a number of families who need homes for rent with three and four bedrooms. They are being designed to achieve high standards of sustainability and will help to improve the look of the surrounding area. We believe that they will be very popular.”
Funding for the new housing has come from the Housing Corporation as well as Housing Market Renewal.
Ten houses that stood on the site previously were bought by the Oldham Rochdale Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder, so that the land could be made available for the new development.
The previous ten owners have received market value for their property, compensation and support from the Oldham Rochdale Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder, including removal costs and survey fees, to help them move to other homes elsewhere in Rochdale.
John Carleton, The Housing Corporation’s Field Director for the North, said, "The Housing Corporation is delighted to have worked in partnership with West Pennine Housing Association and the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder to deliver these new homes. I am looking forward to building on our already strong relationship, and working together to deliver the transformational changes planned for Rochdale and Oldham.”
These houses are not only high quality properties which meet local needs, they are also a key milestone in the plans for the Pathfinder project in Rochdale. They are a good representation of what the Corporation has achieved in partnership with housing market renewal pathfinders across the north."