Construction is due to begin within weeks on four new affordable rental homes in the coastal village of Embleton after Northumberland County Council approved £1.17 million in funding.

Contractors are expected to break ground as soon as late July on a council-owned brownfield plot on the Greyfields Estate, where two former Swedish timber houses once stood.

The scheme will deliver two two-bedroom bungalows and two two-bedroom semi-detached houses to meet local demand. The properties will be owned and managed by the county council, adding to its growing portfolio of affordable housing across Northumberland.

Since 2017, 2,470 affordable homes of various sizes have been built countywide. A further 1,130 affordable homes (to rent or buy) with planning permission are also due to be delivered in communities across Northumberland.

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The Embleton homes will feature low-carbon technologies such as air source heat pumps, solar panels and other measures to improve thermal efficiency, aiming for high energy performance ratings. The bungalows will provide level access at the front, widened doorways for wheelchair users and wet-room bathrooms to ensure full accessibility.

Northumberland County Councillor Colin Horncastle, cabinet member with responsibility for housing, said: "This is a great scheme to create affordable housing for this coastal community.

"We want to support people to live independently in their own home for as long as possible and these adaptable bungalows have been designed to be homes for life.

"They will provide much needed accommodation for those residents with the need for level access accommodation, as well as older people looking to down-size so they too can continue to live in their local community."

The scheme is being supported by £475K from Northumberland County Council's S106 Housing Developer Fund, made up of contributions from developers in lieu of on-site affordable housing, to help finance future affordable homes.