Long awaited conversion of Nelson terraced houses begins (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Long awaited conversion of Nelson terraced houses begins

8:00pm Monday 2nd March 2009 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(1)

REGENERATION bosses are celebrating after work got under way on the long-awaited conversion of two rows of derelict houses.

Following months of consultations, contractors have now started to transform the two rows of terraced properties, in Every Street, Nelson.

Town hall bosses hope the converted homes will be ready for living in by autumn.

And the local authority said there had already been interest from people wishing to buy the spruced-up properties.

Six of them be converted into three large, four bedroomed homes, with two sitting rooms, bedroom with en-suite facility, large kitchen extension with patio doors and downstairs shower room.

The remaining properties will offer two or three bedrooms.

Renewable energy requirements will be met with solar panels, efficient insulation, energy meters and pipes, feeding light into enclosed spaces. The properties, with the exception of one which is privately owned, were purch-ased with funding from the former English Partnerships, now called Homes and Communities Agency, and the conversion work on site is being managed by Liberata on behalf of Pendle Council.

The local authority decided to complete the flagship conver-sions itself in order to progress work as quickly as possible.

Iftekhar Bokhari, Pendle Council’s se-ior regeneration officer for Whitefield, advised on the conversion designs.

He said: “The community is really excited by this development. They and heritage groups have been very involved in consultations about the designs.

“It’s an opportunity to show what can be done with terraced housing.

“The houses will be eco-friendly and are designed to be flexible to accommodate changing family circumstances.”

The work is part of a wider scheme to breath new life into the area, being run by the Whitefield Regeneration Partnership.