Gateway Court development opens

26 July 2010

Fifty-eight flats in four blocks - 44 for rent and 14 for shared ownership – have been built on the site of a former British Gas depot. The innovative design uses 175 tonnes of gritstone from Birchover quarry, just five miles from the development.

The rented blocks, which are subject to a local letting policy, have four two-bedroomed flats on each floor level, eight ground floor properties are built to wheelchair user standards and the remaining 36 properties are general needs accommodation. The development includes 58 parking spaces.

Around £500,000 was pumped back into the local economy during the construction, helping local businesses and workers tackle the economic recession.  Local bricklayers and other construction workers were employed at the development, together with local businesses selected to supply walling, aggregates, mortar, pre-cast concrete drainage, plant and other building supplies.

Derbyshire Dales District Council Leader, Councillor Lewis Rose OBE said: “This latest housing development in Matlock is vital in more than one respect.  Not only does it mean more affordable homes, which we know is a priority for local people, it enabled the District Council to help local businesses make the best of the economic situation.

“As part of our commitment to local people during the recession we have been urging businesses to take the opportunity to tender for council services and also to check whether they qualify for rate relief.  We are delighted that local construction workers and at least eight local businesses benefited from the Matlock project.“

Housing Heroes Awards winners in 2010, the District Council and its partners have delivered 578 new homes across the Derbyshire Dales since 2002 and accounted for over a third of all new affordable homes built in the county in 2009.

On top of that, in the past year the District Council has achieved real value for money by getting an additional £16.70 from the Government for every pound we have spent.

Derbyshire Dales District Council's Community & Environment Committee Chairman Councillor Mrs Janet Goodison said: “Good quality housing at a price local people can afford is very important – that’s why affordable housing is the district council’s top priority.

“Projects such as those developed in partnership with Dales Housing give local people the chance to stay in the area and live in a decent home close to local amenities.”

The 58 flats in Matlock follow 91 new homes completed in the Derbyshire Dales last year.  The target figure of 362 in the three-year period to 2011 is higher than any other district authority in the county.

Gateway Court contributes to a total of 131 new homes created in partnership with Dales Housing, the Matlock-based housing organisation.

In Darley Dale, 28 Lifetime Homes have been developed in Lime Grove on the footprint of a former sheltered housing scheme that was no longer fit-for-purpose.  Two of the flats are for wheelchair users.

In Ashbourne, Brookside Meadows has been created with 48 new build homes with 38 for rent and 10 offered for shared ownership built next to an existing housing estate on the edge of the town centre, creating a new neighbourhood.

Dales Housing Executive Director, Jacque Allen, said: “We are very proud of this trio of very different developments. It is wonderful to see our new tenants moving in and great to see newly developed houses being turned into homes by them.

“The use of the gritstone from the local quarry, which has 21 employees, is an excellent example of Dales Housing’s commitment to support local jobs and services.

“Our development at Lime Grove proves that accommodation that no longer meets tenants’ aspirations can be remodelled to provide modern homes that are fit for the future.

“Brookside Meadows is not just 48 new homes providing affordable rented and shared ownership opportunities for local people – it is a whole new community.

“We have worked closely with our partners on all of these developments and I think they are testimony to how successful partnership working can be.”

Dales Housing, a member of the Acclaim Housing Group, owns and manages 3,200 properties across Derbyshire Dales.