Residents have begun moving into new homes built as part of Sheffield's largest ever multi-million pound housing regeneration scheme.

The first of over 1,000 new homes planned for the former crumbling estates of Scowerdons, Weakland and Newstead, (SWaN) in south east Sheffield, have now been built under ambitious plans being carried out by Sheffield City Council in partnership with social housing provider Home.

The £135m plans, which got underway last year, has already seen the demolition of vast swathes of older, non-traditional houses on the three housing estates, in the south east of the city.

As part of the plans, local residents were moved out with the promise they would get the pick of the new houses when they were built under the Council's unique Resident's Charter, aimed at making sure this happened. Residents have even had the chance to get involved with the design of their new homes.

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The first of these new homes have now been built by Home on the Weakland estate, with five householders now back living in rented accommodation.

And they will shortly be joined by people buying new properties on the estate, as Home next week (31st January and 1st February) kick-starts the house sales by unveiling its first show home at Weakland.

One of the first residents to move back to Weakland was Paul Biggs, his wife Jane and their 11-year-old son Callum. They are who now living in a three bedroom, three-storey property, having previously lived on the Scowerdons estate.

Mr Biggs, 43, who works as an engineer, said: "Our first impressions of our new home are very good. We are excited about being one of the first families to move into a new home and are looking forward to seeing how the area develops in the coming years.

"We lived on the Scowerdons estate for 14 years and like the area but living at Weakland is even better because it is closer to my son's school and also the school where my wife works."

(CD/JM)