Families have begun to move into the new homes, many of which are available for affordable rent, at the £100m urban development known as ‘The Mill’ in Cardiff. The 102 homes will be completed in the spring of 2019.

Of the 800 homes to be developed at The Mill, half will be allocated for affordable rental and owned by Tirion Homes while being managed by Cadwyn Housing Association. The long-term vision of creating an affordable, high quality neighbourhood is now a reality for the new residents. Community facilities, a riverside park and local shop will be developed as part of the scheme.

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The Mill is a collaboration between Principality Building Society, Tirion Homes and Welsh Government, with housing developers Lovell and Cadwyn key partners in the delivery and management of the scheme. The initiative will bring sought after affordable homes to west Cardiff on a former derelict site, which has lain dormant for over 20 years.

Mum-of-one Vanessa Oldham and her partner are one of the first families to move in to the rented properties at The Mill.

She said: “We are thrilled with our new house at The Mill, it’s a great size, light, airy and already feels like home. It was great to move into our new home at the same time as our neighbours, it makes getting to know everyone so much easier and builds a lovely community feel.

“One of the things that attracted us to The Mill was the security renting from Tirion Homes and Cadwyn gives us, which is so important when you have a young family.”

The Mill is being delivered by Tirion Homes, a “not-for-profit” housing company that is seeking to provide more affordable choices to working people in Wales through the delivery of high quality new neighbourhoods in our towns and cities.

David Ward, CEO at Tirion, said:

“We are thrilled to be handing over the first units to our customers and truly hope people will feel able to set down roots in our new community. It has been a long and sometimes challenging road to get to this point and we are grateful for the commitment shown by our partnership with Principality Building Society, Welsh Government, Cadwyn and Lovell in bringing the project to fruition. The quality of the new homes is a credit to the commitment of the EBDC Board, our partners and our consultant team without whom delivery would have been much harder.

“The Mill is a major regeneration project that is providing much needed choice and affordability in the Cardiff housing market and will deliver sustainable economic benefits for the local community in the coming decades. We very much look forward to working with our partners to deliver the remaining phases of the development to ensure the scheme is a huge success in creating a sustainable new community for west Cardiff.

“We are very grateful for the support of Welsh Government who had the foresight in establishing this ground-breaking initiative back in 2012 which is now bringing significant housing and economic benefits to the local economy and has the potential to be rolled out across Wales.”

Principality Building Society’s commercial lending division has provided construction finance for the first 102 rented homes at The Mill, as well as infrastructure finance for the site as a whole.

Steve Hughes, CEO at Principality Building Society said:

“I am absolutely delighted with what is being created here – seeing such tangible investment in our communities and delivering badly needed homes where they are needed. What really excites me is that in the last week this project has made a big difference to the lives of nine families who are moving in and in the months ahead that number will exceed 100.

“Indeed when I step back and consider the 800 homes being built here in the context of what is happening in other major UK cities this stands shoulder to shoulder with any of them. What we have demonstrated as a collective is how government and businesses can work across different sectors to achieve a common goal. Our focus has been to invest directly into Welsh communities, while bringing together local businesses to work collaboratively.”

Welsh Government has been a key partner in helping the ambitious project at the old paper mill site next to the Ely River come to life. Not only has the project rejuvenated the area, it also created an estimated 1,000 jobs locally.

Rebecca Evans, Minister for Housing and Regeneration, said: “The Mill is an example of genuine collaboration between government and house builders. I’m delighted to see people moving in and enjoying their new homes.

“We provided Tirion group with over £6m of loans to support this development because we are committed to delivering 20,000 affordable homes during this term of government. It’s great to see this development is delivering for people here in Cardiff.”