OVER 200 new homes are to be built to meet demand for housing in a County Durham town.

Housebuilder Gleeson Homes has been granted planning permission to build 201 affordable, quality new homes in Bishop Auckland.

The new development will be known as Bracks Farm and will be located off Auckland Way, where there is a strong demand for new build homes.

The new development will see the 28-acre site be transformed into, two-, three- and four-bedroom semi and detached homes.

Prices on the development will be affordable, with the Government’s Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme available on selected plots, meaning prospective homeowners will be able to buy a home with just a five per cent deposit, perfect for first-time buyers and young families in the area.

There will also be 12 discount market sale plots available, priced at 20 per cent lower than their market value.

Gleeson have agreed a Section 106 Agreement which will see them donating £300,000 towards local highways and road maintenance, £39,000 towards education and local schools, £40,500 towards sports and £73,125 towards bus stops.

Gleeson are also incorporating into the development a woodland area, a village green and two ponds.

Construction is due to commence in June 2021, with the first homes expected to be released in August, and show homes anticipated to be launched in December 2021.

The first homeowners are expected to move into their homes in the spring of 2022.

This will be Gleeson’s sixth recent site in County Durham.

Sarah Marsden, Divisional Managing Director at Gleeson said: “We are looking forward to bringing much needed new homes for first time buyers and key workers to Bishop Auckland, with our second development in the area Bracks Farm.

"This is a thriving region where we expect there will be exceptional demand from first-time buyers for our homes.

“We are delighted to be investing in the local area by improving roads, supporting schools and sport clubs, as well as providing by employing a workforce on site that will be made up of local labour and contractors.”

Gleeson is seeking local labour and sub-contractors to work on the new development, including applications from young people who are interested in joining the Gleeson apprenticeship scheme.