Denne and United scoop £63m Kent housing work

A consortium featuring local contractor Denne and United House has turned up trumps on one of the largest housing deals of its type to come up for grabs in the UK.

The group, which also features Housing 21, has emerged as preferred bidder for Kent County Council's £63m scheme, known as Better Homes, Active Lives.

The news means curtains for French outfit Bouygues, which also priced the project and was making its first foray into the UK's PFI housing scene.

The scheme will allow the council, in partnership with 10 local councils, to build more than 340 apartments for vulnerable people across the county.

Construction work is expected to start on site soon after financial close, which is due around March 2007.

The homes will be delivered in phases over five years.

Most of the housing, probably around 280 units, will provide extra care for elderly people across seven districts.

The plan is to build 40 homes in each districtdistirct -- Shepway, Thanet, Ashford, Maidstone, Dover, Canterbury and Dartford.

There will also be 56 "supported living apartments" in nine districts across the county, with the housing aimed at people with learning difficulties.

These homes will be built in Dartford, Dover, Tonbridge and Malling, Canterbury, Swale, Maidstone, Shepway, Ashford and in Thanet, where there are plans to construct a further six apartments for people with mental health problems.

The contract will span 30 years and cover new build, plus maintenance and management of the apartments.

[Contract Journal, 20 September 2006, p10]