Not many people can claim they have had the opportunity to get involved in the design of their new home, but a group of residents in East Manchester are seeing that dream become reality as building begins on affordable housing at the New Islington Millennium Community.

In the first phase of affordable housing at New Islington, 23 new homes are being built at Woodward Place for Manchester Methodist Housing Association. The houses are part of a £250m Millennium Community development being created over 29 acres by a coalition of partners, including developer Urban Splash, national regeneration agency English Partnerships, New East Manchester and Manchester City Council.

New Islington is one of seven Millennium Communities across England managed by English Partnerships.

Woodward Place will comprise 14 three-bedroom houses (110 sq m), 1 four-bedroom house and the rest are two-bedroom (90 sq m). The development has attracted a grant of £2.7m from the Housing Corporation. Work is expected to take approximately one year. An announcement on the architect selected for the second phase of affordable housing at New Islington Millennium Community will be made by partners in December 2004.

Central to this development has been the involvement of local people in the design of their new homes.

Residents opted not to consider proposals for contemporary-designed apartments. Instead, they became involved in the development process itself by selecting architects FAT (Fashion Architecture Taste - runners up for Architect of the Year in 2003) to design new houses. The successful collaboration with FAT has resulted in fascinating designs, with interiors that reflect the lifestyles of residents.

The houses feature homework spaces for children, terraces, and open plan kitchen/dining spaces. Each home has its own front door, a garden with access via large patio doors and in-curtilage car parking. Residents can even choose to personalise their new homes with decorative balconies, bird boxes, hanging baskets and different colours.

Houses at Woodward Place will replace part of the Cardroom estate, built in the late-1970s. By the 1990s, the estate’s community was suffering the effects of massive depopulation, a lack of local services and high crime.

David Higgins, English Partnerships chief executive, said, "The Millennium Communities Programme is setting exemplar standards for new housing development. The Millennium Communities’ principle is a critical one; that everyone involved in building new homes can do better – better for people, better for places and better for the environment. Millennium Communities are about creating places where people can afford to live and want to live.”

The New Islington Millennium Community will include a new primary school, a state-of-the art primary care clinic and 1,400 energy efficient and environmentally-friendly homes. Progress so far includes:

• Planning permission for development of the Ancoats Hospital dispensary building.
• Ian Simpson-designed buildings on the site of the former hospital.
• The Alsop-designed ‘Chips’ building (apartments) and ‘Urban Barns’ (homes on stilts).
• A new canal arm on the site of the former hospital.
• A new access path and screening improvements that will improve the views towards the existing Retail Park.
• An 80m new section of canal adjacent to the Rochdale Canal.
• Better streetscape, design features and parking for Old Mill Street.