MORE than 100 affordable homes are likely to be built on the regenerated Old Town Docks site in Newport.

Charter Housing has submitted an application for 86 apartments and 15 family homes on land on East Dock Road.

It is hoped work will start early in 2009 on what is described as one of the largest sustainable, energy efficient housing projects in Wales.

Newport city council has a policy of asking for affordable homes to make up 30 per cent in sizeable new housing schemes But members of the planning committee were told last Autumn that there were a number of problems in realising this, Housing estates, Newport Unlimited and planning officers had decided to look at the whole Old Town Dock development in a different way and allocate specific parts of the site for affordable housing.

Newport-based Charter Housing's parent group Seren is part of the GENuS consortium made up of four Gwent housing associations.

Recently we reported that Monmouthshire Housing joined as part of plans to invest more than £200 million in new and existing homes over the next four years creating more than 250 new jobs.

The other members are Newport Housing Trust and Pontypool-based Melin Homes.

Regeneration has been a key feature of the consortium's work and includes projects at Alway and Ringland in Newport and the Clarence Hotel in Pontypool.

Redevelopment of the Blenheim Square neighbourhood centre in Cwmbran will start before Christmas.

The number of new homes provided also includes the final phases of the redevelopment of the prefab estates in Newport.

Established in 2005, GENuS has already invested more than £125 million and provided 825 new homes in the area.