Elm Court, Hawick undergoes relaunch with green transformation

Eildon Housing Association’s development Elm Court in Hawick has undergone a transformation since work began on it in July 2020. Bell Contracts was appointed to undertake extensive works, following a competitive procurement exercise through Public Contracts Scotland.

The association said the project is a “fresh start for Elm Court and a huge commitment from Eildon Housing to make sure this development meets the needs of current and future tenants within the town”.

The 30 original flats, built in the 1990s, have been refurbished and structurally altered into 21 general needs, modern, sustainable homes.

Following the consultation, the 21 green homes were designed to:

• combine smaller, one-bedroom/one-person flats into larger, more flexible flats with improved space
•  improve thermal efficiency and replace the ageing electric storage heaters with modern, green, air-source heat pumps
• reduce noise transfer between flats
• replace windows, doors, wiring, kitchens and bathrooms.

Nile Istephan, Chief Executive of Eildon Housing Association, said: It was important, as part of this refurbishment, that existing tenants were consulted. Their feedback helped with the design process and potential improvements to the homes. Follow-up meetings also included discussions for planned re-housing of affected tenants and to talk through specific housing needs and how we could best support their move.”

“We’re really pleased the new flats are finally ready, and our tenants will be moving in throughout August. Unfortunately, there have been extensive delays with this project, due to the major UK-wide problem of getting homes connected to power supplies. This has been frustrating for everyone involved. We’d like to thank all neighbours for their patience during the protracted works, and, especially, our tenants who have had a long and difficult wait.

“We hosted a well-attended open afternoon on Friday 5 August to showcase the great works that have taken place, and I am confident our tenants will be very happy in these fully-modernised, sustainable new homes.”

The entire project cost for this development was circa. £1.9 million, with £400,000 grant funding from the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme.