New affordable homes complete at South Shields development

Leading social enterprise Places for People, in partnership with Adderstone Living, has completed its latest social housing development in South Shields, South Tyneside. With 69 new homes now available to local residents, this collaboration underscores its commitment to providing affordable housing solutions to communities that most need them.

The development, built on the former land owned by South Shields FC, comprises 69 family homes in a range of two, three, and four-bedroom layouts, all built to Homes England standards. Situated on Shaftesbury Avenue a couple of miles from South Shields town centre and the coast, the site creates an extension of a well-established residential area, occupying a 6.5-acre brownfield site next to South Shields Football Club.

The homes are designed for modern family living, each with a private rear garden and dedicated parking spaces, as well as flexible, well-planned interiors. Demonstrating a commitment to sustainability, the development transformed a challenging brownfield site into an attractive place to live. Working with engineers at the Sirius Group during the construction process, 98% of the former warehouse that occupied the site was recycled, including all existing masonry and steel incorporated into the new project's foundations, while all green waste and timber – and almost all mixed waste – was recycled. 

The site's proximity to local amenities, as well as transport links including Bede and Simonside metro stations and major road networks such as the A19 and A1(M), further enhances its appeal, offering residents convenient access to South Shields, Newcastle, and the wider Tyne and Wear area. To encourage residents to use greener modes of travel, occupiers of the new homes will benefit from a free preloaded ‘top-up’ travel card for use on local public transport.

With work now complete on the homes, the keys to the final properties have been handed over, ready for new residents to move in.

In addition to building new homes, Places for People has also formed partnerships with local partners, including Port of Tyne to increase local community activities. Each partner contributes £5k per year to develop bespoke projects to help improve the lives of people in the local community. To date, projects for young offenders, people with SEN and activities to tackle food poverty during summer holidays have taken place. 

Nilam Buchanan, Regional Managing Director, Central and North at Places for People, commented, "We are delighted to have completed the Shaftesbury Avenue development, providing high-quality homes, and creating a thriving community, in an area where there is great demand. 

We’re pleased to see that customers have already moved in and started to make their new home their own and would like to thank our partners at Adderstone Living for bringing the vision to life and helping create a well-connected community and offering more opportunities for families to thrive.” 

Adderstone Living, which is a dedicated social housing division of Adderstone Group committed to tackling the housing crisis by building affordable housing solutions, developed the site, constructing the new properties.

Managing Director, Stephen McCoy added: “We were delighted to partner with People for Places on this project. When we sourced this land there was a scheme design that was totally stuck in planning.  Changing the layout totally and redesigning the access arrangements we managed to satisfy planners and achieve a viable scheme.  

“The finished product is excellent and fits well into its new surroundings compared to the derelict factory that occupied the whole site previously.”