Former tennis club site serves up new council homes

The site of a former tennis club has been transformed into council housing in Wolverhampton.

Residents are due to move into 11 gas-free council homes on Villiers Avenue in Bilston: 10 with two bedrooms and one with three. They stand where the tennis courts once stood.

Each home has solar panels and an A energy rating, and will be available at an "affordable rent," the City of Wolverhampton Council said.

"There is an increasing demand for housing, and this forms part of our pipeline of new council properties we are developing to deliver more and better homes for local people in well-connected neighbourhoods across the city," said councillor Steve Evans, the council's deputy leader.

To make up for the loss of the courts, £40,000 was spent improving tennis facilities at East Park, the local authority has said.

The development was supported by a £620,000 grant from Homes England.

The new houses were built using timber frame construction, which has a lower carbon footprint than traditional structures and can help reduce energy consumption, developer Morro Partnerships explained.

Gavin Ward, the company's operations director, said: "A forgotten corner of Bilston is now a welcoming neighbourhood where families can put down roots for years to come.

"These energy-efficient homes are built for the future, with lower running costs for residents and a smaller footprint on the planet. "

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