TEN new environmentally friendly homes have been handed over to customers in Failsworth as part of a £1.3m project aimed at delivering affordable homes in the area.
First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO), the housing association which took on the borough's former council house stock, has set up six one-bedroom apartments on Albert West Street and four of the same on Woodhall Street with residents able to avoid the environmental footprint of gas central heating.
The housing association’s strategy aims to help meeting increased demand for affordable homes.
Two of the new properties are located on the ground floor and are suitable for those with mobility issues.
FCHO received £390,000 from Homes England to help with these developments, which were build by north west contracted John Southworth Builders.
The properties, all of which are said to be for affordable rents, are equipped with an innovative energy storage system heaters to help reduce the carbon footprint of the area.
Solar panels fitted at the home will generate energy which will be stored in batteries.
Customers can then use this energy to run low carbon, electric storage heaters on demand to heat their home instead of relying on central hearing from high carbon fossil fuels.
One customer who has picked up the keys to a new apartment was 28-year-old Yasmin.
She said she was looking forward to independence of having her own place.
She said: “I’ve been waiting for my own place for so long and I am over the moon to have moved in here – it’s beyond what I expected. Previously I was living at home and, with my mental health struggles, sometimes it was hard. Getting this apartment has put me in a really good place and now I’m looking forward to my future and independence.”
The apartments at Albert Street West and Woodhall Street are among 100 homes across the UK, Ireland, Belgium and France trialling the green technology as part of RED WoLF, an EU funded project.
Danielle Ashworth, the head of development at FCHO said she hoped the customers would be happy in their new homes.
She said: “Minimising the environmental impact of our new build homes and existing properties, and increasing their energy efficiency is important to us.
"Smarter use of resources means our customers can benefit from good quality housing that’s fit for the future, as well as lower energy bills and more money in their pockets and I hope Yasmin and all our customers are very happy in their new homes.”
FCHO formed in 2011 and took control of 11,867 properties from Oldham Council. It is now registered as a community benefit society with charitable objectives after a change to the law in 2014.
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