New residents celebrate the completion of Compass House at Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex

Wednesday 3rd August 2011

On Tuesday 26 July 2011, Orbit South celebrated the completion of Compass House, a contemporary new 42 apartment development in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex with a scheme opening event.

The event was attended by local people who will be moving into the new homes starting next month, as well as partners involved in completing the project. Speeches to officially open the scheme were given, followed by a cake cutting ceremony and tours of the new homes which are being made available on either an affordable rented basis or through Shared Ownership.

The £5.5 million scheme has been built in partnership with developers, Gemselect, and architects, Blue Ridge Design Limited. The development was made possible with £1.6 million of funding from the Homes and Communities Agency and £500,000 funding from Rother District Council, who have fully supported the scheme.

The architecture of Compass House resembles that of the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill as well as other sea front buildings in the town, allowing it to fit into the area perfectly. The 42 apartments, set across four floors, are a combination of one, two and three bedroom apartments. The building itself is built on the site of the former Hollenden House Care Home, which provided care for ex-servicemen in the area. The home closed its doors in 2006 before the site was re-developed.

Work started on site on 11 May 2009 and shortly afterwards the project hit the national headlines when a WWII bomb was uncovered by the contractors digging the foundations. Local school children and residents were evacuated from the area before the bomb disposal squad safely detonated the device. Footage of the controlled explosion can be seen by Google searching 'BBC Buckhurst Road bomb explosion'.

The completed design has a host of features which enables the scheme to meet Secured By Design accreditation and Code 3 for Sustainable Homes. There is an extended door entry system in place which permits access only to the required areas of the building; secure gated undercroft parking for each resident plus additional visitor and disabled parking. A secure cycle store with space to house 80 bicycles has been incorporated into the design, and all apartments have air source heat pumps instead of conventional combi boilers which will reduce fuel costs and have less of an environmental impact than traditional heating methods.

Helen Burton, Area Manager at the Homes and Communities Agency says; "This development is well-designed, incorporating many sustainable features and will provide quality, much needed homes for the local community. I am delighted that the HCA has been able to support our partners in making this development possible."
Head of Housing for Rother District Council, Anne Fennessy, says; "This brown field site was derelict for some years and an eyesore for Bexhill. Negotiations between us, Orbit and developers Gemselect resulted in a partnership that has produced these homes for local people.

"Housing need in Rother is increasing because households cannot afford to rent or buy a home on local incomes. Rother has over 2,000 households on its housing register, increasing by 100 applications each month. These homes are much needed. This development shows what an effective partnership and team work can do."

Vivien Knibbs, Managing Director for Orbit South, says; "We are proud to have been part of this project and to help deliver high quality affordable housing that is much needed for local people living in Bexhill-on-Sea. We hope the residents enjoy their new homes and wish them much happiness living here in the years to come."

"Gemselect Limited is proud to be the developers at Compass House, which has been completed both on time and to budget despite the occasional unexploded bomb scare!", says Andy Georgiou, Managing Director of Gemselect. "As locally based developers, we are particularly grateful for the patience of all our neighbours during the course of the works and hope that they will enjoy the benefits of this graceful structure in future years."

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