Together Housing alongside Esh Construction and partners have celebrated the completion of a ground-breaking social housing project in Halifax, Calderdale.
To mark the anticipated completion of the Beech Hill regeneration project, the northern based social housing association, North of England contractor, Esh Construction and Calderdale Council came together within the community to celebrate the four years of close partnership working.
Beech Hill is a social housing project that has been established to address the demand for housing in the area. The completed development emerged following the demolition of three derelict tower blocks to make way for the dual-phased scheme comprising 106 new affordable homes and the delivery of external envelope repairs and energy efficiency improvements to 70 mixed tenure homes on the adjacent site.
To meet a diverse need for housing in the local area, 106 two, three, four, and five-bedroomed homes have been built on site by Esh. Five of these homes are fully wheelchair accessible and all properties are energy efficient, rated B.
Properties on Phase 2 of the development benefit from energy efficiency improvements, including new pitched roofs and rainwater goods, insulated cladding, new windows and doors along with new boundary treatments. Over a third of the homes with viable roof space also benefited from solar photovoltaic panels.
Over the years, the Beech Hill redevelopment has caught the attention of local politicians and partners including onsite visits by Lisa Nandy MP, Holly Lynch MP and Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin.
The site has also been awarded Residential Development of the Year (More Than 100 Homes) at the Insider Yorkshire Property Industry Awards in 2022 and named Partnering Scheme of the Year at the Northern Housing Awards in 2023.
The Beech Hill redevelopment scheme was also a key project delivered by The Calderdale and Together Housing Investment Partnership (CTHIP), established in 2017 to help address the housing crisis by delivering approximately 650 affordable homes across Calderdale over a five-year period (2018 – 2023).
The dual phased scheme benefited from investment from Calderdale Council, THG, the Government’s Getting Building Fund via the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and the Government Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Estate Regeneration. The scheme has also been made possible thanks to funding from Homes England and WYCA through the Leeds City Region Growth Deal.
Patrick Berry, Executive Director of Property at Together Housing said: “The anticipated completion of the Beech Hill redevelopment programme comes at a time when we’re seeing a growing demand for affordable homes in the country. We’re proud to have delivered on our aim to respond to this growing need and of the synergistic partnership with Calderdale Council, Esh Construction and The West Yorkshire Combined Authority which helped make our plans a reality. Throughout this project, Beech Hill has continuously developed into what we now see as a thriving, diverse community and one we hope to see for generations to come.”
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire said: “Having a safe and secure place to live is a fundamental right, so I’m delighted to hear that over 100 families have settled into their new, affordable homes in Beech Hill, Calderdale.
“This is part of our regional mission to deliver thousands more affordable and sustainable homes across West Yorkshire. By building the high quality and energy efficient homes that we need, we’ll reduce household energy bills and deliver a greener, more secure region for future generations.”
Cllr Scott Patient, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Action and Housing, said: “Reaching this landmark moment in the Beech Hill transformation is an amazing achievement for all the organisations and local people involved.
“Together, we have realised the longstanding ambition to create a thriving area, to help make life better for residents and provide good-quality, affordable homes within walking distance of Halifax town centre, which are warmer, more energy-efficient and cheaper to run. Through this groundbreaking project, we can see the Council’s priorities for reduced inequalities, climate action and thriving towns being delivered.”
Simon Woodward, Operations Director at Esh Construction, said: “Redeveloping this site and providing much-needed new, high quality homes for the community has been very rewarding. A number of challenges have been overcome throughout the project, particularly those presented by the topography of the land with the lower site lying 20 metres below the upper site. This resulted in extensive remediation and enabling works being undertaken, as well as retaining systems being installed. We’re proud of the final result and look forward to working with Together Housing again in the future.