WATCH: Time lapse video shows new city centre homes rising from the rubble

THESE fascinating time lapse photos show how one of Portsmouth's biggest housing developments has been rising from the rubble of an old block of flats in a matter of months.

Builders and engineers have been working around the clock to make sure they complete the 60-home site in the city centre before the summer.

Work to clear the Blackfriars Close site began last year, and construction started in January.

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Portsmouth City Council leader Cllr Donna Jones said the £8.1m development will provide more affordable homes for people living in the city.

She said: ‘We’re building these much-needed homes to ease housing waiting lists.

’It’s fantastic to see the photos which show how well the construction of these new homes is progressing.’

A total of 51 flats and nine houses are being built, among 200 new homes the council is building on sites it owns in the city and in Havant.

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Once building work is completed, it will offer 72 more bedrooms than the ageing Arthur Pope House block which was previously on the site.

Cllr Jones added: ‘These homes will make a real difference to people’s lives.

‘We have a responsibility to provide good quality affordable housing for local people and we take that responsibility seriously.

‘There are very few local authorities in the country building housing at the rate Portsmouth City Council is.

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‘We are proud to be leading the way and reinforcing our commitment to ensure local families have the high quality homes they need.’

The development will be named Ivy Close after a road which used to run through the site.

In February, the council completed 16 new flats in Winston Churchill Avenue.

Officers have also secured planning permission for 23 flats on the site of the old Southsea Community Centre in Kings Street, and for 95 homes on three sites the council owns in Havant.

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A spokesman added: ‘This extensive home-building programme is on top of an equally ambitious supported housing building scheme.

‘This has seen the council open three new developments in Portsmouth, with three other adult supported living facilities in the pipeline providing a total of 60 more new bedrooms in the city.’