Work starts on stunning £12m 'affordable' housing development on former Washington football ground close to The Galleries

The Karbon Homes’ development is located east of Albany Park on five acres of land, previously occupied by Washington Football Club.

The development comprises 42 three-bed houses, 17 two-bed houses, 11 four-bed houses, and six two-bed bungalows, available for Affordable Rent or Rent to Buy.

The scheme is expected to be completed autumn 2022, with Mears New Homes Ltd as the main contractor for the development.

Designed by Ergo Projects, each home is energy efficient and includes private gardens and dedicated car parking spaces.

The layout of the development provides two car parking spaces for the majority of homes and at least one car parking space for some of the smaller properties.

Albany Village Primary School and Washington School are both within walking distance, while The Galleries shopping centre is only a mile away.

Zoey Hawthorne, assistant director of development delivery at Karbon Homes, said: “By working in partnership with Sunderland City Council, we are regenerating this local area.

"The former football ground stood empty for several years and we are delighted to be able to start work to transform it and provide much needed affordable, high quality housing.

"When complete, the new development will provide a mix of property types that will appeal to many local people.

"The majority of homes will be available through Rent to Buy, helping even more residents to buy their own home.

“Albany Park not only extends our footprint in the area but also supports the council’s vision to build 7,000 new homes in the next ten years.”

Albany Park is one of eight developments either currently on site or recently completed as part of a £44m investment by Karbon to build well over 300 homes across the city of Sunderland.

Sunderland City Council leader, Councillor Graeme Miller, said: “We’re delighted to see Karbon Homes pushing ahead with a scheme that will bring more attractive homes to Sunderland.

“We’re determined to ensure that the city has a broad range of properties – to suit families of all sizes – and this is a welcome step in realising that vision.”

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