Newydd Housing Association has won the ‘Best affordable housing development under £5m’ category at the national Inside Housing Development Awards for Cwrt Canna in Llangan.
Developed in partnership with the Vale of Glamorgan Council and Canna Developments Ltd, planning permission for the £3.4million rural development of thirteen ultra-low energy homes was granted in January 2019 and tenants moved into the striking homes during March this year.
Funded using private and Welsh Government Innovative Housing Programme funding and Social Housing Grant, these homes were built using the Beattie Passive Build System and resemble a collection of farm buildings around a central courtyard space.
Commenting on the award, Nathan Beattie, Commercial Operations at Beattie Passive, said, “We’re absolutely delighted to be recognised for our work with Newydd Housing Association. This scheme pushes the boundaries in terms of sustainability and social value. It was a privilege to be involved and we’re extremely proud.”
During the adjudication the judging panel were impressed by the benefits to the community including a prisoner rehabilitation scheme, training and apprenticeships led by local contractor Canna Developments Ltd.
Rhodri Crandon from Canna Developments Ltd said, “A total of 8 prisoners at HMP Parc were employed to fabricate timber modules at Cwrt Canna and over the course of the build 12 prisoners from HMP Prescoed were also employed. Of these individuals, three gained employment with us following their release from prison, two of these continued to work full time and one acted as a site foreman, a fantastic achievement.
“We also provided 298 apprenticeship weeks fulfilled by 6 apprentices through Y Prentis, a construction a construction based shared apprenticeship scheme. I am absolutely delighted that the hard work of my team has been recognised especially during a difficult period in all our lives over the past 2 years.”
Jason Wroe, Chief Executive of Newydd Housing Association said, “We would like to thank all our partners, our development team and of course our tenants for making this housing scheme a success. Tenants have told us that not only do these homes provide them with stability and a future, but ‘a remarkable improvement in wellbeing’. Winning this award is a great achievement, but the smiles on our tenants’ faces is the icing on the cake.”
Cllr Margaret Wilkinson, Cabinet Member for Public Sector Housing and Tenant Engagement, said: "This is a fantastic achievement for Newydd Housing Association. The Cwrt Canna development shows the power of partnership working. As well as providing much needed affordable homes the scheme has created local jobs, trained new apprentices for the building sector, and helped improve the energy efficiency of the county's housing stock. A genuine success story for the Vale."
