Plymouth Community Homes said Barratt will build 250 new homes and refurbish around 60 existing houses in the rundown North Prospect area of the city.

The area is the flagship programme of the new housing association and one of the biggest regeneration programmes in the South West.

The full planning application for the work will be received in October and work should begin in February and March 2011.

Mike Knowles, Plymouth Community Homes’ programme director of regeneration, said: “We invested a lot of time in ensuring we got the right developer to do the best job possible for the people of North Prospect – and we believe Barratt will more than meet expectations.”

Tim Larner, managing director of Barratt Exeter, said: “We are very pleased to have this exciting opportunity to redevelop this established area of Plymouth to create 250 modern homes in partnership with the local residents and Plymouth Community Homes.

“This is the first site for which Barratt has been selected through the HCA’s Delivery Partner Panel and we look forward to many similar successes across the country in the coming months.”

The deal is the first phase of a bigger plan to replace 750 council houses and privately-owned properties to make way for around 1,200 new homes, some for rent, some in shared ownership and some for sale on the open market.