Pictured above: Sue Rowley, Director of Jephson Midlands, Christine Seaton, from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), Karen Brown, Development Officer at Jephson, and Dudley North MP Ian Austin outside the new homes at Washington Court

Celebrations have taken place to mark the transformation of the site of a derelict pub in Dudley into 30 new homes.

Dudley North MP Ian Austin joined guests to take a look around the new homes which have been built on the Wren's Nest estate by Jephson Homes Housing Association.

The land was previously home to the Washington Arms pub which had stood empty for several years and had become a magnet for vandalism and anti-social behaviour. But, thanks to a £1.5million grant from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), Jephson has been able to give it a complete facelift.

Sue Rowley, Director for Jephson Midlands, said: "We know it was a site that really was a local eyesore. Working closely with our partners, we have been able to bring the community back together on this site, as the pub once did, but now rather than entertainment the site provides much-needed new homes and we were delighted to invite the people that helped to make this a success along to the pub to see how the area has changed."

Jephson made a particular effort to ensure the local community benefited during the work, with construction jobs being created for trainees and work experience provided for local college students.

Construction workers also used a volunteer-run café at the Wrens Nest Community Centre opposite the site during their breaks and contractor Wates carried out free repairs to the centre during a community day.

A group of Dudley pensioners, known as Dudley Senior Citizens' Enterprise Woodwork Group, also played a part by using timber from the demolished pub to create dozens of bird nesting boxes that have been put at the development so residents can enjoy the local wildlife. They were among the people invited to take a look at the finished development on Thursday 26th May.

Jephson bought the land in 2006 and demolished the pub to make way for the development, which is called Washington Court. Planning permission was secured to build on the site in 2009 and contractor Wates began building the new homes in March 2010 and work has just been completed.

Washington Court is made up of 14 three-bedroom houses and 16 one and two-bedroom flats, with four of the flats being offered for shared ownership sale through the New Build HomeBuy scheme.

The HCA grant towards the project was supported by a further £385,000 from Jephson's Recycled Capital Grant Funding (RCGF).