A DEVELOPMENT of 24 new buildings in Shalfleet is beginning to take shape.

Foundations have been laid and building is underway at the new housing development, which will see 13 affordable rent and 11 shared ownership homes built on Burt Close, off the main route to Yarmouth.

Local contractor, Stoneham Construction, started building on the site after a successful negotiation between Sovereign Housing Association, the IW Council and a local landowner meant that more than £1m was secured for the project.

Sovereign’s project manager, Liz Evans, said: “Things are going really well on site, we’ve got timber frames up and brickwork, doors and windows progressing.

"We’ve even got the first plumbing and electrics underway — we can already see real progress happening.

"We still hope they’ll be ready for IW families by May 2020.”

This development is Sovereign’s biggest project on the Island since it created 50 affordable properties at a disused school in Windmill Lane, Freshwater, which was completed in 2015.