United Living wins affordable homes project in Murton, County Durham

United Living Group, the provider of infrastructure, affordable housing, and property services, is pleased to announce its subsidiary, United Living New Homes (ULNH) has been awarded a £9.4 million contract to deliver an affordable housing scheme for Northern housing association Karbon Homes.

ULNH will construct 49 affordable houses in Seaview Walk, Murton, County Durham. The homes will be a mix of 3 and 4 bedroom family homes, and 2 bedroom bungalows. All homes will be constructed to an EPC A rating target, making them more sustainable, energy efficient, and cheaper to run.

Caroline Lewis, Managing Director, United Living New Homes commented: “After working well with Karbon Homes on previous projects such as Esh Winning, we are delighted to have been awarded the opportunity to continue our successful working relationship. 

It is essential that when constructing new homes that energy efficiency is a top priority, allowing buyers and renters to not only buy an affordable home, but for it to be cost effective to run too. 

On this project, we aim to achieve this by using a ‘fabric first’ approach, maximising the performance of the materials that make up the building fabric.  

This is widely considered in the construction industry to be more sustainable than relying on complex energy saving technology, and key methods we will use include utilising the thermal mass of the building fabric and using high-quality insulation. We will also be installing Photovoltaic Panels (PV) to all houses to generate a renewable energy supply. 

We are looking forward to working closely with Karbon Homes to add value to the Murton community by providing a selection of high-quality, affordable homes.” 

The development’s delivery is supported by funding from Homes England, through Karbon’s Strategic Partnership with the government’s housing delivery agency.

The strategic partnership has provided the housing association with £131.5 million in funding to deliver 2,200 new affordable homes across the North East and Yorkshire over the next few years.

Zoey Hawthorne, Assistant Director of Development Delivery at Karbon Homes, said: “We are pleased to be working with United Living New Homes on the construction of these much-needed, new affordable homes in Murton. 

We have designed a development that reflects the needs and wants of the local community, providing a mix of property types and sizes that suit residents of varying stages of life. We look forward to work getting underway in the coming months.” 

29 of the new homes will be available for affordable rent and the remaining 20 available for Rent to Buy, a scheme which enables people to rent at less than the market rent rate, so that they can save for a deposit to buy the property outright or through shared ownership.

The homes are expected to be completed by late 2024.