Work to transform a former Cumbria County Council depot into a £1.4 million affordable homes scheme for local people has been completed in Sedbergh.

The disused brownfield site on Guldrey Lane in Sedbergh, in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, had lain empty for more than 17 years. But a unique partnership between Two Castles Housing Association and Esh Property Services, working together with Cumbria County Council and South Lakeland District Council, has brought the site back into community use for the next generation.

Working together under the Hadrian Development Solutions Partnership, Two Castles Housing Association and Esh Property Services have built ten energy-efficient homes for rent at the regenerated site.

With more than 3,000 people currently looking for an affordable home to rent in South Lakeland, the scheme has delivered three, two-bedroom bungalows as well as five, two-bedroom and two three-bedroom houses for local people with a connection to the town or surrounding area.

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Rob Brittain, property services director at Two Castles Housing Association, said: "There is high demand in the area for affordable housing and the Guldrey Lane development enables us to provide high-quality homes for local people to rent.

"The Sedbergh development helps people, who might otherwise be priced out of the market, to stay in a community and in the place where they were born or have a strong connection to - giving families and individuals the opportunity to live in high-quality housing.

"The housing also brings benefits to the wider community by improving a brownfield site which has stood derelict for a number of years."

The Guldrey Lane development, which is built to Code Level Three Sustainable Standards, received £250,000 investment from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA)'s Affordable Homes Programme, and South Lakeland District Council has contributed £30,000.

Each new home has been designed to complement local housing. Traditional building materials such as slate and stone were used, whilst a number of energy-saving features such as efficient boilers and insulation will help to make the homes even more affordable.

The HCA estimates that there is around 62,000 hectares of brownfield land in England (based on local authority estimates); 54% of this is estimated to be vacant or derelict.

(CD/IT)