“It’s beautiful – I love everything about it!”: First residents welcomed to new homes in Thornaby

We have delivered 37 new two, three and four-bedroom homes for affordable rent on the site of the former Anson House and Hudson House tower blocks.

The £6.8million development, known as Westdale, saw us work with local construction contractor, T Manners & Sons Ltd, to build the homes.

And one of the first residents to move in is 83-year-old Dougie Leeming, who is enjoying life in his new bungalow.

“It’s beautiful,” he said. “I love everything about it. I’ve lived in Thornaby all my life and I was over the moon when I heard the news I’d got this new bungalow.

“My last house was too big but this is perfect for me. I can just walk into the town centre in a few minutes.”

Our Executive Director of Development and Partnerships, Joy Whinnerah, added: “We’re delighted to be welcoming customers like Dougie to Westdale.

“It’s a really attractive development offering a great mix of high-quality homes right at the heart of the Thornaby community.

“We’d like to thank Homes England and the Tees Valley Combined Authority for their funding contributions to this scheme.

“We’re also grateful for the support we’ve had from Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and local councillors throughout the redevelopment of the site.”

We delivered 542 new properties and invested £243million in new and existing stock in 2023/24 – both are record highs.