Byker welcomes £3.5m transformation of district's Grade-II housing

Work is underway to renew roofs on the Grade II-listed Byker Estate in a £3.5m project.

Esh Living - the social housing division of Esh Construction - recently secured the contract to replace the original roofs of 409 properties and complete repairs to its external fabric, including brickwork repairs and rainwater goods.

Byker Community Trust (BCT) own and manage the Byker Estate. According to the company, it was commissioned this project due to the existing roof coverings having reached the end of their lifespan.

Colin Ford, construction director at Esh Living, said: “This complex project is something which will ultimately provide the residents with better quality homes and improved thermal comfort.

“We have worked with BCT to help them secure planning permission for the listed buildings and now we can move forward to provide residents with safer, more efficient living conditions.”

Esh Living has completed several schemes across the Byker Estate. In 2017, the company converted 10 Hobby Rooms, located across the Byker Estate into new homes, two of which were specifically adapted for wheelchair accessibility.

Colin added: “It was great to receive recognition for the Tom Collin’s House, we were up against stiff competition to win the award.

“The judges were impressed by the care we took not to compromise the original building design while installing modern safety features.”