Ahead of Christmas, families are moving into the eco-friendly social housing that has been built on the former King’s Arms pub site in Mile Cross. Labour-run Norwich City Council bought the then-derelict site using a ‘compulsory purchase order’ in 2020, and have developed it in partnership with Broadland Housing Association to provide much-needed social homes for our city.
The homes have been built to high environmental standards, both to reduce carbon emissions and to save tenants money on heating and hot water. Features include extra insulation, air source heat pumps, triple glazing, solar panels and an electric vehicle charging point for each home. This meets our ongoing commitment to tackling the climate crisis in a socially just manner which brings immediate benefits to our residents too.
Cllr Gail Harris, Norwich City Council’s cabinet member for social housing, said:
“Turning this deserted plot into much-needed homes is a fantastic outcome for the city and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to social housing. Purchasing the King Arms site to benefit the community is an example of how we are being creative to address the demand for affordable housing while staying true to our environmental ambitions. It has been wonderful to meet some of the new residents already getting settled just in time for Christmas, and I hope they’ll all be very happy.”