Wates Construction has broken ground on the next phase of homes to be built through Flintshire County Council’s Strategic Housing and Regeneration Programme (SHARP), adding a further 12 council homes to the partnership’s portfolio.

The new development, located at Garden City at Sealand Avenue in Deeside, is the latest in a line of new housing projects to be jointly delivered by Wates Construction and Flintshire County Council, which to-date has brought over 150 new homes to the county.

With work now underway at Garden City, Wates will build eight two-bedroom homes and a further four one-bedroom homes. Building work is scheduled to complete in Spring 2020.

The new homes add to those already under construction by Wates including three brand new developments in Dobshill, Penyffordd near Holywell and Mold, which will collectively add 111 homes to the SHARP affordable housing portfolio.

The building work forms part of Flintshire County Council’s SHARP programme, which aims to bring approximately 500 new homes to the county by 2020 to accommodate rising demand for social and affordable housing.

Wates was appointed as the council’s development partner in 2015 and has since completed the construction of 153 new homes across eight sites. These include new homes in Flint, Shotton, Leeswood, Connah’s Quay and Mold.

Throughout their partnership Wates Construction and Flintshire County Council have fulfilled a joint commitment to engage Flintshire-based supply chain partners to help boost the local job market. Recently this saw them host a major networking event for suppliers and subcontractors from across the county.

Extensive opportunities for on-site training have also been created to provide local people with trade skills and support to help them carve new careers in construction.

Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Dave Hughes, said:

“SHARP continues to deliver high quality homes which are much needed in Flintshire. This Council is committed to delivering the benefits of SHARP to different communities in Flintshire and support the Welsh Government in achieving its target of 20,000 new homes across Wales by 2021.”

David Saville, Business Unit Director, Wates Construction North West, commented:

“There is some fantastic momentum in Flintshire and it is a very proud moment for the team to see work commence on yet another of these important developments. The entire SHARP partnership is focussed on making a difference to the lives of local people, whether this is creating new homes for them to live or providing them with hands-on training within our teams and this proves what can be achieved through a long-term partnership and a shared vision.”