The opening of 18 affordable Stonewater homes in Market Harborough is set to help the district’s ambitious affordable housing development programme which saw 120 new homes built last year, up by a record-breaking 33 per cent on the Council’s 90-home target.
Leicester-based social housing provider Stonewater has funded the new community of low-cost rental and shared ownership homes for local people at Farndon Fields off the Farndon Road. Built in partnership with Harborough District Council, the new houses which are part of a larger development of 90 new homes by housebuilder Avant Homes, are within walking distance of the town centre and local schools, shops and services.
The Stonewater scheme offers a mix of 12 one- and two-bedroom houses for affordable rent, and six three-bedroom houses for shared ownership. All the properties are equipped with a private garden and allocated parking. The scheme has been built to help local people struggling to find housing in the area where average rents in the district are a quarter of typical earnings and average house prices at £283,430, are eight times average salaries. The Stonewater rental homes will be allocated through the Council’s Choice Based Lettings scheme which gives priority to people with a local connection.
“Affordable housing is vital to the long-term sustainability of rural towns like Market Harborough, so that they continue to be places where a broad cross-section of people can live,” says Chris Montague, Assistant Director of Development at Stonewater. “We hope these 18 new affordable Stonewater homes in Farndon Fields will go some way towards enabling local people, who support local services, schools, post offices, pubs and amenities, to stay in the community.”
Stonewater manages 600 homes across Leicestershire.
Councillor Phil King, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regeneration at Harborough District Council, says:
“We are delighted that Harborough District Council has been able to work in partnership to provide more affordable homes for families who need them. In the last year, a record number of affordable homes have been provided across the Harborough district, and this new site shows that we are committed to helping more people who might be struggling to find a property within their means.”