A NEW housing development in York has been opened by the chairman of the Government’s Homes and Communities Agency.

Robert Napier formally opened the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust’s new Dormary Close development in New Earswick, which includes independent living homes for adults with learning difficulties or physical impairments, as well as affordable housing.

The trust said the development, designed by architects Browne Smith Baker, aims to be a model of environmentally-friendly, affordable housing that could be adapted and replicated across the country.

Mr Napier said: “This is an excellent scheme and Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust is to be congratulated for its pioneering work.

“I am pleased that our investment has helped our partners provide homes that are not only what the local community needs but also helps reduce the impact on the environment.”

Nigel Ingram, director of development and asset management for JRHT, said: “We intend that this groundbreaking work at Dormary Close will be a showcase not only for innovative design and construction, but also for independent living.

“We will continue to monitor all the elements of the construction to provide evidence for future buildings and share best practice from the way the development works in its entirety.”

The development includes two four-bed bungalows, with facilities for occasional or permanent live-in carers, as well as four affordable four-bedroom family homes available for buying and rent.

The six properties have been built on the site of the trusts’ former residential care home Dormary Court, which closed in 2009.

Dormary Court was home to 13 residents with learning disabilities before the trust ruled it was no longer fit for purpose as a care home.

The development has been built using natural and renewable construction materials, including Hemcrete – a mix of hemp and a lime-based binder cast around a timber frame, for which it received funding from the Department of Energy and Climate Change.