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Work starts on innovative Healthy New Towns housing development

Work starts on innovative Healthy New Towns housing development
24 August 2018

Darlington’s mayor tried her hand at an alternative career – bricklaying – as she helped mark the start of building work at a new development.

Cllr Veronica Copeland was among the guests as housebuilder Keepmoat Homes held a ceremony to mark the start of work at its innovative Fairway development on Red Hall.

A total of 81 new homes are being built on the site, which is the first under NHS England's Healthy New Towns (HNT) programme.

Keepmoat Homes and Darlington Borough Council are two of a large number of partners in the HNT scheme. Darlington was one of ten areas selected as HNT demonstration towns when the initiative launched back in 2016.

HNT aims to find creative solutions for the health and care challenges of the 21st Century, including obesity, dementia and community cohesion.

Keepmoat Homes has adopted the HNT design principles for this development and each property will be built to the Lifetime Homes Standard, so they can be adapted to meet the changing needs of residents over their lifetime, allowing independence for as long as possible.

Some of the special measures incorporated in order to meet this standard include: ground floor layout arranged for wheel chair turning, accessible WCs which are capable of conversion to shower rooms,  wide stairways to allow for a chair lift and  first floor joists arranged to accommodate a through-floor lift.

Ian Prescott, Land and Partnerships Director for Keepmoat Homes, said: “We have been actively involved from the outset in helping the Council and Health Trust to secure Healthy New Towns status for the eastern side of Darlington and it is great to now be progressing on this innovative development. We will be delivering a brand-new house type range which allows for easy adaption and alteration as resident needs change over time."

Councillor Andy Scott, Darlington Borough Council’s Cabinet member for Health, Housing and Partnerships, said: “Healthy New Towns has been a big plus in Darlington over the past two years. This high-quality housing development, and other projects that Healthy New Towns has supported, such as the successful South Park junior parkrun, will provide a lasting legacy to the impact of Healthy New Towns in Darlington.”

Hilary Hall, Project Manager for Healthy New Towns Darlington, said: “Keepmoat Homes has been a key partner in the Darlington Healthy New Towns programme from the very beginning. I hope this will be the first of many developments to follow the HNT template for healthy and sustainable living.”

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