Sunderland housing association gets planning for first phase of £117m development

Gentoo, Sunderland

Gentoo, the Sunderland-based housing association, has been given the go-ahead to build the first homes of a £117m 900-unit development in the north east.

Sunderland city council gave the development the green light to build 56 homes – featuring two-bedroom bungalows and two and three-bedroom family homes – at Downhill, near the area’s Hylton Castle.

The site is part of Gentoo’s affordable housing plan, which aims to deliver nearly 1,000 affordable homes to the Sunderland area by 2024.

Work on the Downhill site is expected to start in the spring of next year.

Last month Gentoo, which manages nearly 30,000 homes across the north east, announced it had started work on the first phase of its Chester Gate housing scheme, also in Sunderland.

The initial building programme will deliver 118 for-sale homes on a scheme which will eventually see 500 units built.