Gateshead is now set to become the first site in the UK to boast a development of BoKlok homes, a Scandinavian-style timber-framed houses and flats designed by Swedish construction firm Skanska in partnership with Ikea.

Members of the council’s Planning and Development Committee agreed to grant outline planning permission to Live Smart@Home, a property company which is part of the Home Group, for the development of 117 Scandinavian-style timber-framed houses and flats close to Gateshead International Stadium.

BoKlok was designed 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.

It is believed that work on the first phase of 36 flats in 6 two-storey blocks will begin later in the Spring with the first flats being marketed in Ikea’s Gateshead store in the Autumn.

Councillor David Napier, Gateshead’s Cabinet member responsible for Housing, says: “This is an exciting development and one that makes an important contribution to the debate on affordable housing.”

“I’m delighted that the developers have chosen Gateshead to be the first UK development of a totally new type of home.

“These homes are cleverly designed, highly energy-efficient and they look fantastic, so I don’t think there will be any shortage of potential buyers in Gateshead.

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.

The BoKlok flats have a flexible open-plan layout, with high ceilings and large windows which give the apartments a light, airy and contemporary feel.

BoKlok homes are designed around factory processes that enable them to be constructed in quality-controlled conditions than would be impossible to create using traditional construction methods. They are constructed using a highly insulated closed panel system developed by Pace Timber Systems, of Milton Keynes, with a range of cladding systems.

Homes come with a host of additional features as standard, such as extra height rooms to give a feeling of space, wooden flooring throughout, fitted kitchens and free interior design advice from Ikea, as well as an Ikea furniture voucher.

The homes will be built by Live Smart @ Home. They have been designed by Home Architects in consultation with BoKlok AB of Malmo Sweden. Milton Keynes-based construction managers Avebury International will manage delivery of the scheme, and the homes will meet and exceed all current UK building regulations, as well as being designed to be energy-efficient.