Howley Walk and Corfe Close are former disused garage sites in Batley. They are being transformed to provide seven, two-bed homes on each site, all of which are for affordable rent.

Contractor Tolent was awarded the £2.6m contract in March and will deliver the scheme in less than a year.

Chris Price, regional director for Tolent, said: “We’re delighted to be working with the team at Kirklees Council to deliver these much needed, quality homes.

“We have an exemplar track record as the contractor of choice when it comes to housing projects across the North East, and it’s fantastic that we’re now well on our way to building this same reputation across US.”

Coun Cathy Scott, Cabinet Member for Housing and Democracy, said: “I am really pleased to see construction start on this new build project of 14 affordable homes and demonstrates our intentions and investment in social housing.”

This contract win marks another milestone for Tolent, which plans to expand its operations in US.

The contractor has won around £25m of work to deliver more than 150 homes across the region.