27/03/2024
New affordable development takes shape near coastal beauty spot in Suffolk
From left, site manager Leon Calder, Flagship Homes senior project manager Stephen Jones, contracts manager Neil Hesketh, Lovell regional managing director Simon Medler, and assistant manager Steve Green at Picture House Green in Leiston, Suffolk
Land close to the Suffolk coast is being transformed into a new community for more than 200 people.
Flagship Homes – Flagship Group’s housebuilding subsidiary – is building 74 homes off St Margarets Crescent in Leiston, with the first to be finished in October.
Construction firm Lovell is the main contractor for the project, called Picture House Green, which will include 55 homes for affordable rent and 19 houses for shared ownership.
Flagship’s senior project manager Stephen Jones said the project would help address the need for affordable housing in the popular area, which is just two miles from the coast.
From left, site manager Leon Calder, contracts manager Neil Hesketh, Flagship Homes senior project manager Stephen Jones, Lovell regional managing director Simon Medler, and assistant manager Steve Green at Picture House Green in Leiston, Suffolk
Mr Jones said: “We’re using traditional methods to build these homes, which will all feature solar panels.
“They will each have an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rating of B. That’s considered excellent in terms of energy efficiency.”
Simon Medler, regional managing director for Lovell, said: “We’re delighted to be working once again with Flagship, on this occasion to bring quality, energy-efficient homes to Leiston. Picture House Green is located in a fantastic position near an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, close to RSPB Minsmere, as well as being close to the Suffolk coastline, including Aldeburgh and Thorpeness. We know these affordable homes will be incredibly popular.”
Leiston was home to the world’s first continuous flow assembly line in the late Victorian era and early 20th Century.
Products made at the Leiston Works included portable steam engines, tractors and munitions during the first and second world wars.
Site manager Leon Calder, from Lovell, at the Picture House Green site
The town also has Suffolk’s oldest purpose-built cinema which has been operating the 106 years – the Leiston Film Theatre.
Its original name, the Picture House Theatre, was the inspiration for the new housing development.
The homes will have direct access to adjacent playing fields and there will be a new children’s play park on the site.
The scheme is part of Flagship’s strategic partnership with Homes England, which is providing grant funding to help with the cost of providing affordable housing.
The project should be finished by December next year.
The Picture House Green project taking shape in Leiston