£8 million Alloa housing project completes

KINGDOM Housing Association (KHA) has completed its latest development at Elm Grove, Alloa, delivering 54 new homes.

The project is a collaborative arrangement between KHA, Ochil View Housing Association and Kingdom Initiatives. The properties comprise a mix of 33 social rented and 21 mid-market rented homes, at a total cost of around £8 million. £3.8 million was provided by the Scottish Government through affordable housing investment funding.

The project was developed by KHA and the social rented homes were transferred to Ochil View Housing Association on completion as part of a transfer alliance agreement between the two associations. The mid-market rented units were developed by KHA for Kingdom Initiatives.

Linda Leslie, Kingdom’s chair, said, “It was a privilege to visit Elm Grove Alloa. Through the close collaboration and partnership working between the two housing associations the houses have been designed, built and finished to an exceptionally high standard. They  provide a mix of energy efficient homes for families with a range of housing needs. The artwork that the pupils from St. Mungo’s Primary School created has been captured in the sculptures that celebrate the contribution of these new homes to the local community.”

The specification includes homes that have been built to silver level sustainability standards, which has been achieved through enhanced insulation standards, solar panels, mechanical extract ventilation and waste water heat recovery systems.

Anne Smith, acting chief executive from Ochil View, said, “The mix of house types will meet a wide range of housing needs in the Alloa area and the wheelchair designed homes have been designed to meet the particular needs of identified families, which will provide sustainable housing for many years to come. The design, quality and specification is excellent and the feedback from tenants who have already moved into their new homes has been very positive.”

The project was designed by Smith Scott Mullen Architects and the construction was undertaken for Kingdom by Marshall Construction, who also delivered community benefits including job and apprenticeships, work placements and initiatives with the local primary school.

Bill Banks, Kingdom’s group chief executive, added, “Development of new housing projects can be complex and this project is an excellent example of what can be achieved through a collaborative approach between housing associations. The cost of developing new homes is increasing, it’s difficult to achieve the new quality standards and procurement requirements can be challenging, however through the partnership approach we applied we were able to deliver high-quality new homes, without compromising standards, which meet the objectives of both associations.

“At Kingdom we pride ourselves on the high quality of the homes we develop and much of this is down to the regular on-site inspections we incorporate into the process. It was good to catch up with Alastair Adams on the site visit. Alastair was the association’s clerk of works at Elm Grove and this was Alastair’s final project before he retires at the end of March, after over almost 30 years service with Kingdom, we all wish Alastair a long and happy retirement.”