Partner Article

Development of luxury apartments at Gateshead hospital site gets underway

Prince Bishops Homes (PBH) has reached a major milestone after work commenced on the refurbishment of three blocks of flats in the grounds of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead.

The development will see the refurbishment of the dated blocks, which will create 36 apartments, including one block of family apartments. The refurbishment will comprise a mixture of two and three bedrooms apartments.

Landlord PBH, which is a subsidiary company of North Durham housing provider Derwentside Homes, will offer the flats for rent to hospital staff and through the private rental market. A small number will also be available as shared accommodation and will be used by locum doctors, who wish to stay close to the hospital on a short term basis.

PBH provides a wide range of quality properties to rent across the North East and its first development in Gateshead will take its overall portfolio of homes to approximately 276.

The £4 million refurbishment is expected to take a year to complete and it is part of the Government’s Build to Rent (BTR) programme. On its housing sites, PBH offers an innovative rent to buy scheme giving tenants the chance to buy their home after four years by sharing any increase in equity value, which can then be used as a deposit for a mortgage.

Keith Tallintire, Chief Executive of Prince Bishops Homes, said: “We are very pleased to see the refurbishment works commence on these three blocks of flats, creating high quality, modern apartments for hospital staff and local people.

“This is an exciting time for Prince Bishops Homes and marks an important milestone in the growth of the business. Our aim is to increase our stock to 600 in the next two years and we are making good progress against that target.”

There will be refurbishment of external entrances, communal areas and flats will be fully upgraded with modern kitchens, bathrooms and replacement windows.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Craig Downs .