A £3.5 million housing development which has seen 18 new homes built in Newtown has been officially opened.

The homes have been built by Powys County Council on the site of the old Red Dragon public house and Maesyrhandir Youth Centre, with the Welsh Government providing £2.4 million of funding through its Innovative Housing Programme.

The official opening ceremony took place on September 20, with representatives of Powys County Council and its Tenant Scrutiny Panel as well as Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Town Council, given a tour of the new properties.

Cllr Matthew Dorrance, deputy leader and cabinet member for a fairer Powys, said: “This is a fantastic development which is helping us provide much needed additional low-cost homes for Powys residents.

 “I’m grateful to the Welsh Government for the funding provided and for the work by the council’s Housing Development Team to deliver this high-quality project.

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 “Tackling the housing emergency in Powys is my top priority. This exciting development has provided highly insulated and eco-friendly homes for social rent which is allowing us to build a stronger, fairer, greener future for this community.”

The homes include one three-bed bungalow, 11 two-bed houses, three thee-bed houses, two four-bed houses and one five-bed houses, and are all highly insulated, eco-friendly.

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The houses will be owned and managed by Powys Council, and will be allocated to tenants through the ‘Homes in Powys’ programme, which manages all social housing in the county.

Powys County Council have stated that all the properties will be let on secure contracts and rents will reportedly be among the lowest in Powys, which the council says will help people to better manage the cost-of-living crisis.

The dwellings have been built using timber frame, wood fibre insulation to the walls, brick outer skin and slate roofs. Heating and hot water will be provided through air source heat pumps, which the council says is much better for the environment than gas heating.

To address the ecological issues as part of the development, a sustainable urban drainage system has been installed as well as a ‘bat loft’ for roosting bats, which are found at this location.

The development has two access points which are called Clos Y Ddraig Goch and Cwrt Y Dryw.