Work on affordable Bilston homes underway

Delivering a mix of one and two bedroom apartments and two and three bedroom terraced and semi-detached homes, this latest project builds on an eight-year partnership in Midlothian between Melville and Taylor Wimpey East Scotland, which has already delivered 116 affordable homes across the local area.

Pentland Green, which was recently opened in Bilston, has planning permission for 191 homes including a provision of 25 per cent affordable homes, with a further 240 houses in the pipeline. As part of the Section 75 planning agreement with Midlothian Council, Taylor Wimpey East Scotland will make a community contribution of over £4.3 million towards education and transport.

Pauline Mills, land and planning director for Taylor Wimpey East Scotland said: “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to be working once again with Melville Housing Association in order to deliver much needed affordable housing in the Midlothian area. We’ve enjoyed a successful partnership with Melville for almost 10 years, and the provision of 26 new affordable homes in our first phase at Pentland Green in Bilston signals another great opportunity for our organisations to work together successfully.

“With a further 22 affordable homes allocated to Melville within phase 2 of our development, it’s clear that our working relationship will continue to flourish. As one of the largest housebuilders in the UK, we are committed to building more than homes and making sure that we add social, economic and environmental value to the wider communities that we operate in.”

These new affordable homes at Pentland Green in Bilston will help meet the high demand for social housing in Midlothian, where there are currently over 4,000 individuals and families on the housing waiting list.

Neil Edgar, development manager for Melville added: “These new affordable homes will be a welcome boost to the local area. The huge numbers on Midlothian’s social housing waiting list demonstrate the desperate need for good quality, affordable housing and we will continue to do everything we can to respond to this demand.”