Gentoo awards £10m worth of contracts to build 58 new homes for rent on four Sunderland sites

Gentoo landlord to 29,000 homes, has commissioned the contractors to build 58 new homes for rent across the city, as the next stage of a multi-million pound affordable homes plan.

Construction work is set to start in the coming weeks, with the first homes expected to be available for rent in late 2021.

The three companies to successfully secure the contracts are Esh Construction, builders T Manners & Sons and ENGIE.

Continuing an ongoing partnership with Gentoo, ENGIE has secured two new contracts in the scheme which are worth almost £4million.

ENGIE will lead work on two new sites in Sunderland, building 11 new homes at Cricklewood Road in Hylton Castle and 10 “modular” homes at Prestbury Road in Pennywell.

The other two contractors are North East based and will be working with Gentoo for the first time.

Esh Construction will build 24 new homes at Eastbourne Square in Carley Hill with a contract worth £3.5million.

T Manners and Sons will lead the £2.4million regeneration of the Gentoo’s Conishead Centre office in Silksworth into 13 two and three-bedroom homes for rent.

Gentoo Group has included a “social value commitment” in each of its contracts. This means that all of the contractors are required to ensure the new developments benefit the local community.

Joanne Gordon, development director at Gentoo Group, said: “We are delighted to have awarded these contracts as part of our affordable homes plan, marking the next stage of our commitment to deliver high-quality, affordable homes in Sunderland.

“This investment of almost £10 million is a major part of our exciting plans for affordable housing in the city, and we are looking forward to working with our contractors over the coming months to commence these schemes, while delivering economic and social value for our local communities.”

Simon Manners, managing director at T Manners & Sons, said: “We are delighted to have secured the contract to deliver affordable homes at Silksworth and we look forward to working with Gentoo in the coming months on this exciting new project.”

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