Portsmouth City Council wins award for 60-home development in Somers Town

Portsmouth City Council picked up the Portsmouth Society‘s Best New Build in Portsmouth accolade for the Ivy Close development of 60 homes in Somers Town that was completed in 2018.

The development was built following the demolition of the Somers Town Health Centre and Arthur Pope House in Blackfriars Road.

Property development project manager Adrian Legg, who managed the Ivy Close scheme, said: ‘Ivy Close includes housing options designed specifically for people with disabilities in an attractive scheme that maximises the potential of a previously inefficient council-owned site.

‘We’re very proud of it and it’s great to have a team of experienced industry experts recognise the value of this development for Portsmouth.’

The win comes four years after the council won the same award for the community building Somers Town Central (known as The Hub) just 100 metres west of the Ivy Close site. The Hard Interchange, in Portsea, also won the award in 2018.

Housing cabinet member at the council, Councillor Darren Sanders, added: ‘To win this award three times in four years is exceptional - particularly when you take into account the financial pressure councils are under.

‘The council’s housing development team are quite rightly very proud to be delivering award winning council-owned homes for Portsmouth people at prices they can afford and to be delivering homes for people with mixed and varied needs.

‘A major part of the reason our development of this city centre brownfield site saw us win this award for the second time in such a short space of time was the significant positive impact that it had on the city’s affordable housing stock.’

Ivy Close is made up of nine family houses and 51 flats in three blocks.

The development was designed to be as eco-friendly as possible with 189 solar panels installed. The homes were designed to meet the council‘s 19 per cent improvement in dwelling emission rates and reduced water consumption.

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