Turning the soil for new homes in Shipston
04/09/2009
They were joined on site by Stratford District Council members and officers, representatives of Jephson, the developer and Warwickshire Rural Housing Association (WRHA), which will own and manage the homes.
Members of Shipston-on-Stour Town Council and Warwickshire Rural Community Council, which organised a public consultation event in 2007 to showcase the plans, also attended.
One of the first jobs is to construct a temporary access road to provide the local Girl Guides and neighbouring farmer with access to the adjacent land. A permanent access road will be constructed and the existing footpath along London Road towards Shipston will be widened to two metres to benefit pedestrians.
The 26 home development will comprise 18 two bed houses, four three bed houses, two four bed houses and two three bed bungalows. They will be a mixture of detached, semi detached and terraced properties.
22 will be for rent and the remaining four will be available for shared ownership, which is a part buy, part rent scheme. Completion is scheduled for summer 2010.
In keeping with WRHA’s policy, only people with a local connection to Shipston, for example family or work ties, will be eligible to move into the homes.
The development has been carefully researched and planned to ensure it complements its surroundings. WRHA, working with the town council, conducted a housing needs survey and found there was call for two to four bed houses for rent, two bed bungalows for rent and two bed houses for shared ownership. This information formed the basis of the planning application.
A community consultation event followed to give members of the public a chance to view and comment on the proposal. It was then submitted to Stratford-on-Avon District Council East Area Planning Committee which approved the application in December last year.
Neill Gilliver, WRHA Development Services Officer, said: “We are delighted to now be on site and are looking forward to creating much needed affordable homes for the community in Shipston.”
Photo caption: L-R Craig Felts (WRHA) Mayor Alan Noyce (with spade), Phil Green (Jephson HA)