A ceremony to mark the start of the first phase of a £250m 1,500 housing development has taken place.

The ceremony, which included representatives from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), Doncaster Borough Council, housing and regeneration specialists Keepmoat Homes, Strata and The Guinness Partnership, was held at Carr Lodge in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

David Curtis, Executive Director at the HCA and Dave Sheridan, Keepmoat's CEO was joined by other company representatives to 'cut the sod' to mark the start of the first phase of the project, which will see the construction of 329 new homes. 172 homes will be developed by Keepmoat Homes, with a further 132 larger homes delivered in partnership with Strata Homes, along with 25 Custom Build plots being built by Fairgrove Homes. The joint development name for the scheme is known as 'Dominion'.

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The £45m phase one development will see a mix of home ownership options including the construction of 241 homes for sale, 66 homes for affordable rent and 22 homes available to buy on a shared ownership basis, ensuring that these homes are available for local people. All homes will be designed to the Government's Code for Sustainable Homes level 3 and Lifetime Homes standards.

The development will include 25 Custom Build plots as part of the Custom Build programme, which is a Government-backed initiative to encourage individuals to build their own homes, by making £30m in loans available to support projects.

Plans for the first phase of the development, which was brought forward via the HCA's Accelerated Land Delivery programme, were approved by the Council earlier this year and a new single carriageway spine road, funded by the HCA was completed in June.

The new road, Woodfield Way, links the A60 Tickhill Road with the A6182 White Rose Way; providing access to the Carr Lodge housing site, Tesco supermarket at Woodfield Plantation, the Holiday Inn Express, the new Morrisons supermarket and the new White Rose Way Park and Ride site just off White Rose Way.

David Curtis, Executive Director at the HCA, said: "It is fantastic that the HCA has been able to ensure that new homes will be built by releasing public land and building the link road. The development starting today will protect and create jobs, and create a high quality, sustainable mixed community.

"The partners are offering opportunities for new homes for everyone in these times of housing difficulty helping to ensure that there will be homes to buy, rent or even build yourself."

(CD/JP)