A NORFOLK housing association has pledged to continue to make improvements for its tenants after celebrating its fifth birthday with the opening of a new eco-friendly development.

A NORFOLK housing association has pledged to continue to make improvements for its tenants after celebrating its fifth birthday with the opening of a new eco-friendly development.

A pair of low-cost energy homes that took only a matter of weeks to complete were officially unveiled in Diss.

Officials from Saffron Housing Trust promised to provide more affordable homes across South Norfolk after the success of the pilot project.

The super-insulated houses in Skelton Road, which were made with prefabricated panels from Sweden, include eco-friendly features to reduce heating bills.

The opening of the development comes five years after South Norfolk Council transferred 4,200 homes to Saffron Housing Trust.

The association has since built another 353 homes in the district and refurbished existing properties.

Adam Ronaldson, chief executive, said the Long Stratton-based housing trust was continuing to work with local authorities and organisations across the county to deliver more affordable homes.

"We are delighted to be celebrating what have been five very exciting and challenging years. My colleagues and I have worked hard to deliver our programme of improvement and are delighted that Saffron Housing Trust is a highly successful business which contributes significantly to the local economy and employs 178 staff."

"We continue to look at new ways of working and providing more homes, such as the new eco-build in Diss, which will shortly be ready for new tenants," he said.