Guildford Borough Councillor for Westborough Ward, Howard Smith, and staff from St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School recently came to view the progress of 37 new affordable homes being built by housing provider Abri in Westway, Guildford.
Headteacher Tom Collins and Premises and IT Manager, Julie Galvin, joined Cllr Smith at the Gardeners Walk development which is being built by Abri’s in-house construction team.
The 100% affordable scheme will include a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom homes for the local community, with 11 homes for affordable rent and 26 homes available to buy through shared ownership. To make them affordable the homes will be funded by Abri and utilise grant funding from Abri’s Strategic Partnership with Homes England. To lower running costs and carbon emissions, all the homes are being fitted with air source heat pumps, high levels of insulation and mechanical ventilation heat recovery systems which help reduce heat loss.
Councillor Howard Smith, councillor for Westborough Ward in which the scheme is located commented: “It’s vital that we provide the homes people need and particularly affordable housing that’s economical to heat with a lower carbon footprint. I’m pleased to see the progress being made at this development as it’s homes like this which provide essential social and environmental benefits to the area.”
The homes are being built on a former brownfield site that used to be a car repair centre, between St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and nearby allotments. To help blend with the natural environment of the allotments, certain garages alongside the new homes will have green roofs covered with vegetation to create natural habitats for flora and fauna and to aid biodiversity.
Tom Collins, Headmaster at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School said: “With the new homes right next to our school they’ll form an important part of the community and potentially welcome families with children that will attend St Joseph’s. We’ve worked closely with Abri since work started on site to minimise disturbance for our pupils and I’m
delighted to see the previous space now being transformed into sustainable homes for the neighbourhood.”
John Kelly, Production Director at Abri added: “We’re committed to working in partnership with the local community to provide homes that really make a difference and it was a pleasure to welcome everyone to site. Our in-house construction team are meticulous about quality and we want to leave a positive legacy in the areas in which we build. By incorporating energy saving features into each home, we’re helping to do this by reducing carbon emissions and making the homes sustainable long term.”
The development is expected to be completed by early 2025.
