Cobalt handed £6.8m to fund redevelopments
Two derelict sites in north Liverpool are to be redeveloped after Cobalt Housing received £6.8m from the Homes & Communities Agency to partly fund construction of 97 homes and new community amenities.
Thirty eight one-bedroom flats and 24 two-bedroom houses will be built for the housing association on a site at Landford Avenue, Sparrow Hall, which has been empty since a Ministry of Defence housing estate was demolished in 2004.
The project includes a row of shops, to be developed by social business the Neighbourhood Services Company, including a chemist, café and convenience store.
A second site in Croxteth, previously occupied by two tower blocks, is also being redeveloped by Cobalt Housing.
The land, off Regal Road and Sceptre Road, will contain 35 flats, houses and bungalows.
Part of Symphony Housing Group, Cobalt Housing has secured funding from the Homes & Communities Agency's 2011-15 Affordable Homes Programme.
Brian Young Architects is the architect for the Landford Avenue project, which is being funded by Cobalt Housing.
The construction contract for the project is currently out to tender. Ainsley Gommon is the architect for Regal and Sceptre, which will be funded by the HCA grant.
Contractors are to be invited to tender for construction work.
Work is expected to begin at both sites in July and be completed by Spring 2014.
Ann-Louise Gilmore, property services director at Cobalt Housing, said: "The developments represent a major investment in the area and they are great news for north Liverpool.
"Not only will they provide new homes for local people, but they will transform previously derelict land and significantly improve our communities.
"The homes we are building are precisely those that the area needs, particularly in light of the new welfare changes as there will be a mixture of houses, bungalows and flats to accommodate an increase in demand for smaller properties."
Cobalt Housing is a housing association established in 2003 to take ownership of housing stock from Liverpool City Council on the eastern fringes of the city.
