The £5m development adds to the growing success of Manningham Housing Association (MHA).
A new development situated in Eccleshill – just two miles from Bradford City Centre – has officially been declared open by experts from MHA. The site is comprised of 24 properties, each ranging from two, three and four bedrooms. Likewise, a town house is also included.
It is believed that the site, otherwise known as One Meadow, cost around £5m to deliver and was created in partnership with Zentra Group, Homes England and Bradford Council.
What’s more, Jack Lunn Construction was the brains behind building the homes, which are renowned for their reduced carbon footprint – each property has a minimum energy performance rating of B or above.
The homes have also been earmarked as affordable – arguably the best part about the new development. The latest statistics show the number of social home lettings in the North West city have more than halved within the last 10 years.
Objectively this new development is incredibly impressive, however the site also holds some personal achievements. Rupert Pometsey, chair of MHA, said without his amazing team, creating more affordable places to live in Bradford simply wouldn’t be possible.
‘MHA was formed in 1986 out of the need to support the BME community who were living in unsuitable accommodation and chronic conditions,’ Rupert said. ‘At the time, it had 22 houses. With grants and support from Bradford Council, Homes England and MHA staff, [we] have 1,400 homes including these 24.
‘But really, it’s all done to MHA staff. Without them, we wouldn’t have achieved this.’
On the subject of progress, it was only last month that MHA were able to purchase the final five homes in the new development on Victoria Road. This part of the process totalled a £1.1m deal.
Barrington Billings, former president of the Chartered Institute of Housing, added: ‘Seven years ago, when I joined the board of MHA, we were at an all-time low. There was a lot of discord around – people were low.
‘We worked hard over those years to bring what was an exceptionally good organisation back to the top of the pinnacle, where it belongs. Since then, MHA has won so many awards in recognition of the hard work that has been done.’
‘I drove up from Nottingham specifically to witness this scheme opening because I was involved in some of the decisions about new developments back when we started to redevelop, and so it was fitting to see one of the finished products,’ he continued. ‘I’m honoured to be with you. I hope MHA continues to have lots more developments.’
Image via MHA.
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