Esh Construction picked for £25m Pelton job

Karbon Homes has selected the contractor to deliver the 100-home development on the former site of Roseberry Sports Community College north of Chester-le-Street.

Work is expected to get under way in the coming weeks.

The development will include 52 rent-to-buy properties, a mix of two- and three-bed family homes, 31 apartments and eight bungalows for over-50s.

Zoey Hawthorne, assistant director of development delivery at Karbon Homes, said: “We’re delighted to announce Esh Construction as the lead contractor for this development, helping us deliver much-needed affordable housing to the site with a broad range of house types and tenures that meet the diverse needs of the local community.

“We have a long-established working relationship with the team at Esh, who have supported us on a number of new homes developments over the last few years, and we look forward to work getting underway in the coming months.”

The houses at the scheme will be built using timber frame construction, with an EPC rating of A targeted.

Chris Hale, Esh’s pre-construction director, said: “This is a significant contract award for our affordable housing division, and we’re delighted to build on our successful working relationship by securing another scheme with Karbon Homes.

“More than 70 properties will be built utilising timber frame, providing additional environmental efficiencies throughout the build process. We look forward to getting work underway and delivering more environmentally-friendly new build affordable homes across the North East.”

The development will be part-funded through Karbon’s £165m strategic partnership with Homes England, to develop 2,200 much-needed affordable homes across the North East and Yorkshire by 2028.