£1.3m investment to support affordable new homes for learning disabled people
West Midlands mayor Richard Parker has announced a £1.3m investment to provide learning disabled adults with homes that can enable them to integrate within the wider community.
The new, energy efficient properties, which will include customised features to improve day-to-day living, are being built on the site of existing, but now outdated, supported living homes in the historic Shropshire town of Ironbridge.
The 17 supported living houses and bungalows, all classed as affordable, are part of a wider regeneration project on 14-acres of brownfield land in Beech Road.
A further 67 homes for general sale will also be built on the site, providing much needed housing for the local area.
The Heritage Walk scheme is being constructed by Lioncourt Homes in partnership with Hft, one of the country’s leading learning disability charities.
The charity provides specialist support for more than 2,700 learning-disabled adults, supporting individuals to experience life to the full, through high quality care and support, meaningful friendships and paid employment.
The mayor said: “Everyone deserves a warm, safe and affordable home and those living in Hft’s new properties will get just that.
“Along with expert support from the charity, individuals will be able to live their lives independently in their own homes.”
The funding contribution to Lioncourt Homes from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is being used to help demolish the site’s existing collection of 1980s supported living homes and offices and overcome complex technical challenges in redeveloping the land.
Heritage Walk is located in the famous Ironbridge Gorge and is within walking distance of the world’s first iron bridge and the village of Coalbrookdale.
Often referred to as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution the area is a UNESCO world heritage site and the place where Abraham Darby first used coke to smelt iron.
More than 300 years on and the new homes in Beech Road will feature the latest 21st century technology including solar panels and heat pumps, helping to reduce energy costs for residents.
Colin Cole, CEO of Lioncourt Homes, said: “We are delighted to be enabling an inclusive community where local people can thrive.
“Heritage Walk is an extremely rewarding scheme for Lioncourt Homes to be involved in and it is a great example of how inclusivity can be achieved through working in great partnerships.”
