A NEW housing scheme earmarked for Brierley Hill aims to transform a derelict site and offer families struggling to afford rent a good quality and energy efficient home.

The former Wood & Moore Builders Merchants in Wallows Road, which was also previously used as a glassworks, has been unlocked for new residential development thanks to an investment of nearly £700,000 from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

The site will be transformed to provide 30 affordable homes for local people to rent through housing provider Citizen Group.

The WMCA investment will be used to clean up the two-acre brownfield site and make it ready for development as part of a £5.9m scheme which will also involve a £1.5m investment from Homes England.

The scheme will see regional developer Liberty Developments construct the new homes with more than 25 per cent of them meeting the WMCA’s Zero Carbon homes requirements using latest low carbon construction technology.

The new properties, which will be available at affordable rents, will also be super energy efficient making them cheaper to heat and power.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and WMCA chairperson, said: “This scheme breathes new life into a brownfield site whilst helping to protect our precious greenbelt and deploys modern methods of construction, generating jobs for local people.

“Brownfield first housing schemes like this are keeping us on track to achieve our regional target of building 215,000 new homes by 2031. By expanding the provision of affordable, high quality, energy efficient housing, we’re enabling local people to meet their property aspirations.”

Alan Yates OBE, chairman of Liberty Developments, added: “This is a challenging site, but we were keen to deliver a high-quality development incorporating offsite construction methods and low carbon technologies.

“The funding has enabled us to unlock this site and the fact that the WMCA is supporting new, regional housing developers such as Liberty Developments shows their genuine commitment to delivering its Plan for Growth with a range of partners.”