200 sign up for Morecambe housing scheme

PlaceFirst said they had received 200 registrations of interest from potential tenants.

of the ‘West End One’ development.

West End One, formerly known as Chatsworth Gardens, is a collection of 51 houses and apartments including a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom homes.

The £5.5m scheme will remodel 27 empty former guesthouses and includes a central landscaped courtyard created through the removal of rear yards.

West End One is set to be followed by West End Two, a second-phase development with 55 properties comprising a variety of one, two, three and four-bedroom homes.

PlaceFirst is also taking applications for the four-bedroom houses, which are due to be released in December 2015.

The Manchester firm will revamp houses on Albert Road, Chatsworth Road and Westminster Road which have stood empty and derelict for years.

Speaking in January, David Smith-Milne, managing director of PlaceFirst, said: “These large and impressive properties present a unique opportunity to reinvent the Victorian guesthouse and breathe new life into the West End of Morecambe.

PlaceFirst said the scheme will target lower-income families but potential tenants will need to provide references and pass credit checks, and sign a neighbourhood agreement to reward good behaviour.

The company plans to hold a public open event to show off the houses later this month.

The scheme, first mooted in 2005, is finally on track after 10 years of false starts and problems, which caused heartache for neighbouring residents as the houses fell into a state of disrepair.

Original developer Places for People pulled out in 2009, blaming the recession.

The Government then granted £1.9m in funding.

PlaceFirst was signed up in 2013 by Lancaster City Council to deliver the scheme but further delays were caused by a 11th hour withdrawal of 
extra government funding and legal wranglings.

There has also been a row between Lancaster City Council and David Morris, MP for Morecambe, who accused the council of “blustering and delaying” over the project, accusations which city councillor Janice Hanson said “had no basis”.