Sovereign Housing Association intends to replace more than 300 properties in local towns and villages with modern homes for sale, rent and part-buy over the next three years.

This major undertaking will see almost £50m invested in the large-scale redevelopment of outdated sheltered schemes and 1960s council housing.

Sovereign’s Director of Development and Asset Management, Grenville Barr, said: “This ambitious programme has emerged from our review of sheltered housing and older estates. Some of this housing is outdated and increasingly unpopular, and we are now in a position to make real improvements to West Berkshire communities.

“From our experience regenerating other schemes and estates, we recognise that involving people in redesigning their areas can bring about real transformation. We want to provide the best affordable homes in this area, while making sure our designs cut crime, reduce energy bills, and help make roads safer.”

The association is embarking on a wide-ranging consultation exercise with local tenants, neighbours and local interest groups in each area to decide on the best mix of apartments, family homes and sheltered housing to redevelop these sites.

The sites to be rebuilt include:

Newbury - Three outdated sheltered schemes at St Donat’s Place, Enborne Road and Willow Close will be replaced with a mix of around 85 private and affordable homes. The elderly residents will move to Sovereign’s £10m new apartment complex for the over-55s, now nearing completion on the site of the former Newbury District Hospital.

Hungerford - The outdated Fairfields sheltered scheme in Fairview Road is to be rebuilt with 38 sheltered apartments. Northview Heights will be rebuilt as a private development to pay for the project, which will create top-of-the range living for older people.

Pangbourne - Bedsits and small flats for the elderly at Pages Gardens will be demolished and 22 new apartments built at nearby Purley Way. Pangbourne residents identified new older person’s accommodation as their top local concern in the recent Parish Plan.

Burghfield - Sovereign already has planning consent to replace 24 flats and 3 bungalows on the Hunter’s Hill estate with 27 family homes for sale and rent. A contractor is about to be appointed so work can begin later this year.

Chieveley - The former Bardown estate will be knocked down and the 51 homes replaced with up to 88 for sale, rent or to part-buy. Part of the estate is already empty and will start to be demolished within the next month.

Speen - Five blocks of unpopular flats at Kersey Crescent will be replaced by up to 133 houses and apartments after local consultation this summer. Sovereign will be relocating the last of the families over the next nine months as suitable accommodation becomes available.

Garages - A small number of Sovereign’s 1,500 garages prone to flytipping and nuisance behaviour have been sold to create £1m to support the estate renewal programme.