Butes housing project to start within weeks

CONSTRUCTION work will begin within weeks on 13 new Alderney Housing Association homes near the Butes following the signing of final contracts.

It has been 13 months since Guernsey-based Grand Hotel Developments and the association began negotiations to build nine two-bedroom flats and four three-bedroom houses at the former Grand Hotel site.

The last part of the jigsaw was the signing of the land transfer from Grand Hotel Developments to the AHA and building contracts with local construction firm Tickled Pink, which will build the homes.

John Weir, manager of the Alderney Housing Association, was delighted the project was finally going ahead.

'We are delighted to sign contracts with Grand Hotel Developments and look forward to construction starting straight away,' he said.

'It is nice to be able to do what we set out to do right at the beginning, which is to improve the quality of people's accommodation in Alderney.'

The Hamon Architects-designed development will cost £1.5m. to build and will be paid for by a grant totalling £600,000 from the States plus bank loans and rents. The AHA will pay the developer once the build is completed.

Subcontractor Nigel Dupont, of Tickled Pink, said the 18-month project would provide work for up to 16 local people. Hardware suppliers will also benefit. Blanchards, for example, will supply materials for construction, electrical work, painting and plumbing equipment – plus some 14,000 concrete blocks will be ordered to construct the development's foundations.

Eight of the homes will be used to rehouse existing AHA tenants at Whitegates and Sable d'Or plus people on the AHA waiting list. The remaining five will be sold for part ownership – a minimum of 40% of the value to a maximum of 80%. Rent is paid on the balance. Mr Weir said it was too early to estimate how much they would go on sale for.

He added: 'With regard to mortgages, we will be speaking to Royal Bank of Scotland – NatWest – in Guernsey. They have offered mortgages for Guernsey Housing Association part-ownership schemes and there hasn't been a problem.'

Each home will contain a hot water system run on solar panels, high-spec wall insulation and a mechanically-vented heat source recovery system.

Paul Venton, director of Grand Hotel Developments, said the development would act as a shop window for the high-spec private dwellings they planned to build on the site.

'We are very excited about this because it's been a long time coming,' he said.

'Now we've got all the approvals in place we can get to work, bringing new life to this site and new investment to the local economy.'

An underground electric mains cable has to be moved and a swimming pool and timber shack have to be demolished before Tickled Pink can start building.