Working with Health and Social Care Moray, Springfield and Grampian Housing Association will deliver a mix of bungalows, terraced houses, cottage flats and apartments to suit a wide cross-section of the community in Elgin.
The development is located in Elgin South, a new village on the edge of Elgin with a range of housing, open spaces, play parks and community infrastructure close to local amenities.
The new affordable homes are designed for energy efficiency with heatinf and hot water supplied by air source heat pumps to keep running costs low and minimising the impact on the environment. The homes themselves will be built using timber frames manufactured at Springfield’s offsite timber factory with thick layers of thermal insulation to retain heat.
The development is designed to meet the varying needs of Grampian’s tenants and includes 12 apartments ranged around two communal spaces designed to offer independence for people with learning disabilities.
Marie Burnell, learning disability care manager with Health and Social Care Moray, said: “Working together with Springfield Partnership and Grampian Housing, we are able to secure high quality and accessible housing for people with learning disabilities. This is in line with both local and national strategies promoting housing opportunities and narrowing inequalities. Appropriate housing is crucial to helping people with learning disabilities achieve rights and ambitions of living safe and independent lives”.
Springfield Partnerships managing director Tom Leggeat, said: “Amidst a national housing crisis and with councils facing capital funding cuts, it is more important than ever for us to collaborate with great partners like Grampian Housing Association to help meet the needs of our local community. This is especially the case on projects like this where we are able to adapt our designs to meet specific needs because of our flexible and a vast range of house styles.
“Projects like this will make a real difference to the people that will call this development home and we are pleased to work closely with Grampian and Health and Social Care Moray to help address the massive need for high quality affordable homes in the area.”
Craig Stirrat, chief executive of Grampian Housing Association Group, said: “The provision of high quality, energy efficient affordable homes are an essential element of an equitable and inclusive society. In particular, safe, secure homes and places enable people of all capabilities the opportunity to flourish and achieve wellbeing.
“We are therefore highly delighted to be working again with one of our key development partners, Springfield Partnerships, and Moray Council, to bring forward much needed tenure-neutral new homes which will enable many more households in Elgin to live independently and comfortably within the community.”
Construction work is already under way on the main affordable homes development while planning permission for the 12 special needs apartments is expected imminently, said Springfield.
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