Social housing project in historic Trowbridge area nears completion

Work on the Selwood Housing site at McDonogh Court in Polebarn Road is nearing completion and the homes should be available for rent or shared ownership in January.

McDonogh Court will offer 10 one-bedroom apartments, four two-bedroom homes and four three-bedroom homes, including 13 for social rent and five for shared ownership.

Paul Walsh, Selwood Housing’s group development director, said: “These new homes are a significant achievement for Selwood Housing, reflecting our commitment to working with local partners to take on the challenge of hard-to-develop sites and helping to revitalise our local communities.”

Newly-finished the corner house on Selwood Housing complex off of Polebarn Road, Trowbridge, part of the regeneration of a derelict site in a historic conservation area. Photo: Trevor Porter 70424-1 (Image: Trevor Porter)

Mr Walsh says they have kept original stone walls and used reclaimed bricks wherever possible in the construction of the housing project.

"One of the difficulties of working in the conservation area is keeping the balance between the original look of the area and building homes to a high standard."

The design and materials for the new buildings had to be carefully considered to complement the surrounding properties, including many listed heritage buildings.

The Selwood Housing complex off of Polebarn Road, Trowbridge, is regenerating a derelict site in part of a historic conservation area. Photo: Trevor Porter 70424-2 (Image: Trevor Porter)

Selwood Housing's £4 million investment, alongside a grant of £1.4m from Homes England, has enabled a complete transformation of the neglected site on Polebarn Road.

The new homes have been built by developer Ashford Homes, which is also converting the nearby historic Courtfield House and building new homes at Courtfield Gardens.

The developers had to clear rubbish from the derelict site before construction began. (Image: Selwood Housing)

The abandoned buildings had attracted vandalism and anti-social behaviour, and a vast amount of rubbish had accumulated on the site over the years.

This dreadful condition, plus its location within a conservation area, meant that development costs were far higher than usual.

They lie behind the historic 18th century Rosefield House and Homeland House, which were once used as government offices.

The homes have already attracted a lot of interest from prospective tenants and shared ownership buyers.

They are expected to become available in January, with two of the five shared ownership homes already reserved.

Selwood Housing has recently secured a £55 million revolving credit facility from Lloyds Bank to build 1,700 new homes across Wiltshire and Somerset in the next ten years.

The housing association is expecting to begin work on 26 affordable new homes at Low Lane in Calne in the early summer. Eighteen of these will be for rent and eight for shared ownership.