Express & Star

Homes for Sandwell estate are built in a day

Timber-framed homes changing the face of a Sandwell estate are taking just ONE day to build.

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They are being built on the site of a former block of council-owned maisonettes in Beacon View Road, Charlemont Farm, West Bromwich.

The £4 million development of 34 homes is nearing completion with the properties expected to be ready for families to move in next month.

They are assembled from timber panels which are constructed at a factory in Walsall where insulation and double-glazed windows are fitted.

The individual panels are then transported to the building site where they are lowered into place by a crane and the pieces are slotted together.

The whole process takes a handful of workers just a day to complete.

The homes are part rent-part buy, with families paying £67,500 for 50 per cent ownership.

Developer behind the scheme, the Accord Group is working with Sandwell Council and the Homes and Communities Agency.

Alan Yates, executive director of regeneration for the Accord Group, said: "There are a number of benefits to building timber homes, including significantly less carbon in both manufacture and in use .

"The off-site manufacture process also reduces costs and potential for defects. Higher levels of insulation and greater air tightness combined with a whole house ventilation system with heat recovery, produces a warm and comfortable home."

He added: "We are really proud to play our part in the regeneration of this area by building new, affordable and modern housing."

"This is an exciting project with really high-quality design which has been commended by leading architectural review panel MADE (Midlands Architecture and the Designed Environment)."

The development is made up of 12 two-bedroom apartments, four two-bedroom houses, eight three-bedroom houses and four four-bedroom houses.

It will also include six two-bedroom houses and four three-bedroom houses for first-time buyers.

The former maisonettes became difficult to let and were subsequently demolished. The site was then left overgrown with trees and became a magnet for fly-tipping.

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