Around 90 Scandinavian-style timber-framed houses and flats are to be built close to the centre of Gateshead, to a design pioneered by Swedish construction firm Skanska in partnership with Ikea.
Ikea and Skanska started BoKlok in the mid-1990s to address the need for affordable properties in Sweden and to provide people with high quality properties at a low price.
The BoKlok concept is to provide space-saving, functional homes offering good quality at a price which puts them within reach of households earning between £12,500 and £30,000 a year. Homes will be offered on a shared ownership, below market rent or outright sale basis, with legal agreements ensuring that buy-to-let will be actively discouraged.