Dacorum Borough Council has been awarded £10.9m funding from Homes England for two of its affordable housing schemes. The Council successfully bid for funding for Marchmont Fields and Paradise Depot — both in Hemel Hempstead.
The Paradise Depot scheme, which is located off St Albans Road, is an exciting plan to redevelop the site and includes a new building which will house a food bank, depot and offices run by local homeless charity DENS. The Homes England funding will be used to build 56 apartments with a mix of one- and two-bed homes. The new centre built for DENS will have a food bank and community café located on the ground floor and office space for staff.
Both buildings will be heated by an energy-efficient air source heat pump system and will have a number of electric vehicle charging points in the communal parking areas.
Planning permission was granted in March 2023 with construction works due to begin next spring.
The Marchmont Fields site is to the south of the existing Grovehill Estate. The scheme will have 32 new homes, including 14 houses and 18 apartments for social rent and is due to be completed in spring 2025. All new homes will be heated by air source heat pumps and the development includes electric vehicle charging points.
Portfolio Holder for Housing and Property Services, Cllr Simy Dhyani said: “We welcome the funding for these two exciting projects which will bring much needed affordable housing to the borough with all homes being provided at social rent levels. We are pleased our excellent track record of delivering new homes has been recognised and that we have been awarded funding to accelerate and increase our efforts in building truly affordable homes for our residents.”
