The development by the Guernsey Housing Association will be the biggest project it has taken on for some years.
It already has planning permission, the site has been prepared, and French contractor Groupe Legendre is lined up to carry out the work, in partnership with local builders Breton.
The GHA was waiting for grant funding – the subsidy paid by government to enable social housing landlords to offer accommodation at rents well below those in the commercial sector – to be agreed by the
States.
That grant application has now been approved both by the Committee for Housing and the Policy & Resources Committee, which signed it off this week.
The GHA said the development was now expected to be completed in 21 months. It combines a concrete frame with traditional building techniques, making it considerably quicker than a full traditional build.
The original plan for the site, which then involved just 22 homes, was for it to be developed as key worker housing. But when the plans changed to provide far more homes it was decided to make the scheme ‘tenure blind’.
That means that while it is likely that some units will still be used for key workers, it is now expected many of the new homes will be for islanders, making a significant dent in the waiting list for social housing.
The new development, which will be known as Courtil Falaise, should be completed in the first half of 2028.
The GHA has also confirmed its intention to take up an option on all 69 units of affordable housing contained in the proposed new development on the Mallard site in the Forest.
The developer Infinity is currently seeking detailed planning permission for that project, and the GHA said that once that had been approved, and grant funding agreed, building work could start by the end of this summer.
That project will be built in a number of phases and is expected to take two to three years to complete.
The GHA said it was excited about the mix of affordable housing units to be contained in the scheme. As well as many smaller homes, it will deliver a number of four- and five-bedroom houses – an area where there has long been a severe shortage in the island’s social housing stock. Between the two developments, 139 new homes will be added to the GHA’s property portfolio.
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