MORE than 300 affordable homes are to be built across the North-East by summer next year.

In Stockton, 124 homes are planned at a cost of £3.5m.

There will also be 56 in Durham, 30 in Sunderland, 23 in Gateshead, 21 in Teesdale, 13 in Hartlepool, 12 each in Newcastle, Easington and Thornley, 11 in Stanley, and eight each in Derwentside and Darlington.

The contract was given to Century Homes after nine housing associations linked up, under a Government agenda, in the first alliance of its kind in the region.

Century Homes uses a timber frame method of construction, so the core elements of the 318 houses can be manufactured at a factory, cutting building time in half.

The alliance brings together three housing association partnerships, Northern Partnership Homes, NEET and Nomad Housing Group.

Under each of these, there are another three housing associations.