Kingdom Housing / News Archive / Kingdom Housing Association Receives £4.9m Allia Donation

Kingdom Housing Association Receives £4.9m Allia Donation

Kingdom Housing Association has received a grant of almost £4.9 million from the Scottish Government through the Scottish Charitable Bond programme managed by Allia C&C to develop 60 homes for social rent at Primrose Street, Alloa.

As part of the town centre regeneration plans in partnership with Clackmannanshire Council, this project will have a positive impact on the surrounding area and will contribute to housing solutions that maximise the time our older residents can remain independent and active within their own homes and local community. 

Advice from Architect Design Scotland and from care and well-being experts has been considered in the design to incorporate future-proofed elements such as dementia-friendly features and mobility scooter charging points.

Our new residents will enjoy energy-efficient homes which meet Housing for Varying Needs standards, are accredited Secured by Design Gold standard and meet the Association’s own design standards. In addition, Community Benefits will be delivered throughout the build contract, including job and apprenticeship creation, work placements and school curriculum support. 

Bill Banks, Kingdom Group Chief Executive said, “We welcome the donation from Allia C&C for the site at Primrose Street, Alloa. The current situation, unfortunately, means the start date for the contract is uncertain. When we are in a position to take the development forward the 60 new homes will bring a fresh lease of life to a site which has sat mostly unused for a number of years. The properties include 2, 3 and 4 person apartments suitable for older tenants or tenants with particular housing needs and I’m sure the future residents will enjoy living in their safe and secure new homes.”

Kingdom Housing Association is very grateful for the support and initiative shown by our colleagues in the Scottish Government, which has secured such substantial additional funding in difficult times. In addition, this project was only possible because of strong collaborative working arrangements with a wide range of partners and exceptional levels of support from Clackmannanshire Council. 

Councillor Donald Balsillie, Clackmannanshire Council’s Interim Housing Spokesperson said, “Kingdom Housing Association has already completed several successful sites for affordable new homes in Clackmannanshire over the past few years.  I am delighted to see this latest site awarded vital funding to allow this derelict site of the former Co-op building in the centre of Alloa to go ahead. An enormous amount of hard work and collaboration has gone into the final design of this new building which will become a prominent landmark in the town centre.”

“This exciting project can only benefit the amenity of Alloa town centre and support older communities with convenient access to transport networks, services and improved models of care.”

“It is also encouraging that once building work can start, new employment and apprentices will be created locally at a time when new jobs will be very much welcomed.

“The Council is supporting this project with around £700,000 of funding being used for additional town centre improvement work.” 

Allia C&C has been supporting the vital development of affordable homes across Scotland with its Scottish Charitable Bond programme.  The bonds provide simple, affordable loans to housing associations solely for building affordable housing, using Scottish Government investment and interest on the loans enables the Scottish Government to provide grants for further social housing benefit.  The loans are available for 5 to 15 years on an unsecured basis with light covenants in place, and no loan or interest repayments are made until the end of the term.

Daniel Carrico, Head of Origination at Allia C&C, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that Kingdom Housing Association has received this donation from the loan interest generated by our Scottish charitable bond programme.  With the creation of 60 new affordable homes, it shows the added benefit our programme delivers to the Scottish housing sector, along with the wider social impact on communities.”