THE construction of one of the biggest council house schemes in Harlow for more than 30 years has moved closer to completion after a topping out ceremony was held.

A 24-home apartment block on Perry Road is one of several council housebuilding schemes being developed by the Harlow Regeneration Partnership which is a joint venture between Harlow Council and The Hill Group. The partnership is delivering hundreds of new council homes across the town including three schemes in Staple Tye.

The development is on the former Lister House site which had previously been derelict for several years. The development will eventually comprise of 20 two-bedroom apartments and 4 one-bedroom apartments. The apartments will be some of the most energy efficient homes in Harlow with solar panels and homes powered by air source heat pumps, helping to keep energy bills down. The development will also include commercial space. Car park spaces for 24 vehicles and 32 cycle spaces, with 15 electric vehicle charging points along with 4 commercial parking spaces and 10 cycle spaces will also be on the site.

Once complete all homes will be allocated to Harlow families on the Harlow Housing Needs Register.

Celebrating construction reaching the highest point at the development, the topping out ceremony was attended by representatives from Harlow Council and The Hill Group including Councillor Dan Swords, the Leader of Harlow Council, and Tom Hill, Managing Director of The Hill Group.

Councillor Dan Swords, Leader of Harlow Council, said:

“We are on a mission to transform Harlow’s housing, renew our neighbourhoods and rebuild our town and schemes like this will help us deliver these missions. Our housebuilding programme will provide all kinds of homes from apartments to bungalows to houses to meet the different housing needs of Harlow residents.

“Since work started last summer the rate of construction on this site has been remarkable. I was delighted to join our partners The Hill Group to mark this important milestone as construction reaches the highest point. This is one of three housebuilding schemes in Staple Tye being delivered by this partnership which will not only provide much-needed new council homes for Harlow families but will help transform this area.”

Tom Hill, Managing Director at The Hill Group, said:

“Perry Road is one of the first three projects to be delivered through the Harlow Regeneration Partnership and it’s an exciting moment to see our joint vision come to fruition – regenerating a derelict site into 24 much-needed new homes for Harlow Council and a brand-new commercial facility. Reaching the highest point of construction here is an important milestone – we are proud to be creating genuinely affordable and extremely sustainable homes for Harlow’s community. We look forward to delivering many more projects like this one in the future.”