Work underway on first council homes in Gosport for 30 years

WORK has started on the first council houses to be built in a town for 30 years.

The foundations of the 16 new homes in Gosport are nearly complete and the timber for the two-bedroom and three-bedroom properties is expected to arrive next month.

The development of the former bungalows in St Vincent Road has been welcomed as there’s hope it will herald more council housing being built in the town.

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Mayor of Gosport Cllr Keith Farr was given a tour of the site, which is in his ward Forton, yesterday.

He said: ‘It’s very, very important that these new builds are council houses.

‘I only hope this is the start of the future of bringing more council houses into Gosport. With the shortage of housing, we need more council properties.’

He added: ‘It is great to see the old bungalows demolished and the new houses built during my term as mayor.’

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As previously reported in The News, the 12 bungalows were unused and had become an eyesore.

They will be replaced by 16 houses, two of which will be two-bedroom and the others three-bedroom. The council has said previously that it chose to build two-bedroom houses to meet a demand for smaller properties.

Councillor Graham Burgess, chairman of the community board, said: ‘We welcome the start of the first council houses in Gosport for four decades.

‘Although only 16 units, it shows our determination to provide much-needed houses for those living in Gosport.’

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The development is being carried out by construction firm Drew Smith Ltd.

Site manager Liam Tobin said the houses will be somewhere Gosport can be proud of.

‘What was here before was an eyesore so it’s an improvement to the neighbourhood,’ he said. ‘It will be a development to be proud of.’

Mr Tobin added he was happy with the progress made and the first block of six properties should be finished by June.

He said: ‘Getting the timber in is a big stage and once that’s up, things will move forward very rapidly.’

All 16 houses are expected to be ready by November.

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