Contractor announced for retirement living development in Ponteland

North East housing association, Karbon Homes, has announced its construction partner for the delivery of a new retirement living scheme in the Northumberland village of Ponteland.

Karbon, which owns nearly 30,000 homes across the North East and Yorkshire, has awarded the contract for its Athol Court development, to EQUANS – the new brand for ENGIE’s regeneration and services led activities – with work expected to start on site in early 2022.

The £5.5M development will include 34, high quality apartments, with a mix of one and two bed homes available for affordable rent and shared ownership for over 55s.

Zoey Hawthorne, Assistant Director of Development Delivery at Karbon Homes, said: “We’re delighted to announce EQUANS as the lead contractor for this development and look forward to work getting started in the new year.

“We’ve worked hard to develop a modern scheme which provides high quality, affordable homes, incorporating the comments of the local community to ensure the homes meet their wants and needs.”

EQUANS has a strong track record of working with housing associations, helping to deliver new homes across the region.

Will Kay, Regional Managing Director at EQUANS, said: “We’re delighted to bring our construction and regeneration expertise to this development and are pleased to be making this scheme a reality though our partnership with Karbon Homes.

“The development will provide much needed affordable homes for older people in the area, and we look forward to getting started soon.”

The new scheme will replace the former Athol House on Callerton Lane, which did not meet modern standards and was recently demolished. Karbon offered extensive support to the residents of Athol House to help them find suitable alternative homes.

It will cover a similar footprint to the original scheme, but given the proximity of the River Pont, will be elevated slightly above ground floor level to ensure flood safety. It will also be moved slightly further away from neighbouring properties to ensure no loss of privacy.

Karbon has the support of Homes England in funding the costs of the project.