9 September 2009
Henry Bellingham MP officially opened a development of ten new village homes at Jarvie Close, Sedgeford on Monday 7 September at 12 noon.
After short speeches, Henry Bellingham MP planted a tree to commemorate the opening after which guests were shown around the inside of some of the homes by residents.
Hastoe Housing Association developed the homes, which are a priority for people with a local connection, with support from Sedgeford Parish Council and the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk.
The land was made available by the Borough Council on a rural exception site. Neither the eight rented nor the two part-rent, part-buy houses can be lost to the open market so will remain available at below open market prices now and in the future.
Sedgeford Parish Council, aware of how the lack of affordable housing was affecting the community, got in touch with Hastoe to explore the possibility of a local needs project. Research through a housing needs survey revealed that over 30 local households considered themselves to be in need of affordable housing.
Mel Stephan, Development Officer, Hastoe Housing Association said:-
“We are delighted to have provided ten much needed homes to local families in a community that is affected by high house prices and a higher than average proportion of second homes. We would like to thank the Parish Council for their hard work and the Borough Council for their continued support of rural housing initiatives. Finding suitable and affordable land for this kind of village development is crucial to its success and projects like this keep rural communities sustainable.”
On a recent visit to the site, Cllr William Barber, Chairman, Sedgeford Parish Council said:-
“We are thrilled with the design and quality of the homes and impressed with the high standards they have been finished to. It goes to show that rural development can be done in a sensitive, considered and successful way.”
Cllr Alistair Beales, Cabinet member for Community, the Borough Council of Kings’ Lynn & West Norfolk said:-
“Vibrant rural communities are at the heart of West Norfolk, and good quality affordable housing of this kind helps to sustain them for the future. We’ve been pleased to work with Hastoe Housing Association and the Parish Council to help provide this community resource.”
The homes were completed in June 2009 to a sustainability rating of Code Level 3 with environmental features including; ground source heat pumps, the highest industry standard composite windows and high levels of insulation.
The development has been designed to complement the existing local architecture through the use of flint, feature brick work and dormer windows.
The event was kindly been sponsored by the architects, Parsons & Whittley, the builder, E.N. Suiter & Sons Ltd and employer’s agent, Alan Bunyan RICS.
Anyone interested in this scheme or Hastoe’s work is encouraged to contact Mel Stephan on 01799 533496 or email
mstephan@hastoe.com
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For more information please contact: Rebecca Beaumont on 020 8973 0437 or email:
rbeaumont@hastoe.com