CONSTRUCTION firm Mansell has been awarded more than £3.5m of work in the first quarter of the year.

The work is part of Project Argo, a housing forum demonstration project with Home Housing, which has so far completed 13 schemes worth in excess of £7m in the North-East in the past 18 months.

The latest scheme to be delivered by the partnering team, which also includes P&HS Architects and NAP Cost Consultants, is a building project in Deckham, Gateshead.

The 32-week scheme has breathed new life into a housing estate in the area, with the selected demolition of properties and the building of two and three-bedroom houses.

The homes will provide rented accommodation for old people as well as residents with disabilities.

Neil Patterson, regional director at Mansell, said: "The partnering team's objective at Deckham has been to provide the best value solution, through collaborative team work, with the involvement of tenant groups and the use of local labour, to address local housing needs."