A HORDEN couple have gone back to school, but have swapped the playground for a solar powered home.
Sheila Williams and Kenneth Lincoln both attended St Mary’s School and remember enjoying many happy times on the playground with their friends.
That playground, which had become a derelict site, has now been redeveloped into a £290,000 affordable housing scheme by Durham Aged Mineworkers’ Homes Association, which has built four homes on the site.
The four bungalows have all been let to people in housing need aged 50 and over and feature solar panels which capture the sun’s energy to help to heat the water in the homes.
Sheila, 56, and Kenneth, 75, were among the first residents to move in and say they are enjoying life in their new home.
“We are originally from Horden and it’s funny to think we are now living on the same spot where used to play at school,” said Sheila
Kenneth added: “I have just had a knee replacement so not having to worry about the stairs, like I did in our previous home, has made a massive difference to our lives and we couldn’t be happier.”
Gordon Gray, DAMHA Chief Executive, said: “We only had a very small site on which to build homes and are delighted to have been able to provide four high quality spacious bungalows that have been let to local people in housing need.
“The homes are very energy efficient and along with the other properties we own in Horden, they are helping to meet the huge demand for affordable housing in the area.”
DAMHA’s development partner on the scheme was Ronden Builders and the Homes and Communities Agency provided grant funding of £222,000 towards the development.