ISLE of Wight Council and its partner Spectrum Housing Group has selected Miller Homes from a shortlist of four potential developers to build a new high quality sustainable development that is integrated into the existing community on the edge of the Island’s county town of Newport.
Following cabinet approval, the 23 hectare site is to be sold by the Isle of Wight Council to Miller Homes.
The sale will bring much needed quality housing to people and will be offered on a variety of tenures through Spectrum Housing Group and Miller Homes.
Spectrum Housing Group has received a pre-allocation of grant from the Housing Corporation of £11m which will enable around 240 of the homes to be affordable to a wider group of people and will be available for both rent and shared ownership to keep down the costs to people moving in.
The high-quality project will see the new homes integrated seamlessly with the existing Pan community with residents being consulted about the ground-breaking project every step of the way.
These new homes will help significantly reduce day to day running costs due to their Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4 plus construction.
This will also ensure that the development is good for the environment delivering a low carbon footprint and contributing to the concept of the Isle of Wight becoming a green “beacon” for the south and for the UK as a whole.
Pivotal to the success of the tendering procedure has been the council’s relationship with Pan Neighbourhood Partnership which has been instrumental in gathering local views, facilitating community consultation and engagement and has been the council’s principal partner in recent “Walk and Talk” exercises where resident’s views were canvassed.
Community consultation has included residents, the schools and local members as well as other interested parties and stakeholders.
The project will also fulfil a number of goals for the council’s “One Island” programme with the scheme including boosting road safety and allowing older residents dignity in old age.
Isle of Wight Council leader and cabinet member for housing Councillor David Pugh said: “This exciting new development is one of the largest that has ever been proposed for the Isle of Wight and will help towards meeting our existing targets for building affordable homes on the Island over the next few years.
“It is vitally important that the homes are built to a high standard and that the new community integrates with the existing one at Pan.
“Our emerging eco-island agenda will also see all the new homes built to the exacting level four standards for sustainable housing.
“This will ensure that the new neighbourhood is environmentally friendly and will help to reduce the Isle of Wight’s carbon footprint for future generations.”
Wayne Morris group chief executive of Spectrum Housing Group said: “We are really pleased to be associated with this exciting scheme in partnership with the Isle of Wight Council and Miller Homes.
“Delivering homes for local people is something that we pride ourselves on and Medina Housing Association, as part of Spectrum Housing Group, will be responsible for delivering quality housing management and maintenance services to the affordable homes element.”
Ian Beal, Managing Director of Miller Homes Southern comments, “We are delighted to have been selected as the preferred partner and are very excited to be part of such an impressive and integral project on the Island. Miller Homes was named Housebuilder of the Year in 2007 by two groups of industry peers; Housebuilder magazine and Show House magazine. These most coveted awards in British housebuilding secure family owned Miller Homes’ excellent reputation as a top 10 house builder in the UK. We welcome the opportunity of developing quality homes on the Isle of White as part of this innovative community project.”
