A key date for tenants as new solar-panel houses completed

In what the council referred to as a “momentous occasion for housing in Rotherham”, the tenants for the first eight houses to be completed on Newland Avenue in Maltby were handed their new front door keys.

Building work on the development of eight houses and bungalows began back in September last year and was carried out by construction company Bramall.

In total, 132 new council houses are being built across Rotherham, with £8.8m of funding from the Homes and Communities Agency, and building work should be fully completed by November this year.

A Rotherham Council spokesman said that the homes, which have eco-friendly features such as solar panels, are being built to the highest environmental standards.

They said: “These standards are above and beyond the typical open-market house building standards.

“This will ensure a high- quality build and a safe environment.”

The Rotherham Council spokesman added that the new houses will “incorporate high energy efficiency measures, making them more affordable for council tenants to live in.”