The first tenant will move in this week to an £11m local authority apartment development in Willaston which aims to set the standard for future social housing schemes in the Isle of Man.
Douglas City Council leader Devon Watson said: ‘We aren’t just building a building here - we’re also building a community.’
James Brown Apartments, named after the pioneering 19th century Isle of Man newspaper editor and political activist, comprises 48 unfurnished, energy-efficient two-bedroom flats finished to a high standard.
Each is light and airy, with views towards the Manx hills or the nearby play park. The kitchens all include washer-dryers to avoid issues with damp clothes being dried indoors.
Air source heat pumps in every property provide heating and high levels of insulation ensure the flats remain at around 15 degrees in winter even without the heating on.
Heating bills are likely to be around a third of what you would normally expect to pay in a similar-sized older flat.
Solar panels on the roof supply power for the communal heating. The hallways are extra wide to allow easy wheelchair access.
There is parking on the lower ground floor with 55 spaces so that everyone who needs one will have a space.
The complex on Snaefell Road is opposite a parade of shops and next to a bus stop serving the town and the hospital.
The development forms part of the City Council’s ongoing regeneration of Willaston and will provide a boost to efforts to ease the housing waiting list.
Three quarters of the tenants had been on the waiting list, with the remaining 25% transferring from other local authority properties, freeing up larger homes for other families.
The rent is higher, at £161 to £165 per week, compared with £125 to £130 for an older flat.
Councillor Watson said: ‘People pay a slightly higher rent, but their overall bills are much lower because they’re spending very little on electricity.’
He added: ‘We want people to have really decent, affordable accommodation, because decent, liveable accommodation shouldn’t only be for those on the upper end of the pay scale. It should be accessible for everyone. That’s the design philosophy behind this.
‘Some of the conditions people were living in beforehand were horrifying.
‘We’ve gone out of our way to build to the highest standards, integrating modern technology such as solar panels on the roof that power communal heating. Warm air from inside the building is harvested and fresh air is then heated using that process.
‘By reducing people’s energy bills, we reduce reliance on fossil fuels and improve their standard of living. There is no contradiction between high environmental standards and high living standards.’
He said while the project cost £11m to build, between 85% and 90% of that would be recovered through rent payments, and there would also be wider savings to the NHS. The costs reduce further, he said, as the design life of the complex is expected to be closer to 100 years compared with 60 for a traditional building.
