One Housing Group wins Best Affordable Development at What House Awards 2008

Published by One Housing Group for One Housing Group in Housing and also in Communities

One Housing Group is delighted to announce that Tarling Heights and Watney Plaza has been selected as Best Affordable Development at the What House? Awards 2008. The winners were announced at the award ceremony held on Friday at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane.

Tarling Heights and Watney Plaza are two adjacent sites near Watney Market in Shadwell, Tower Hamlets. Completed earlier this year, the development comprises 280 new high quality homes, as well as commercial units and pleasant public spaces.

Nearly half of these homes were reserved to support people into home ownership. Research into the demographics of people living in Tower Hamlets and neighbouring boroughs showed that price would be key factor for potential purchasers. Properties at Tarling Heights and Watney Plaza were priced accordingly, meaning that they both compared favourably against other nearby developments and were as affordable to people from Tower Hamlets and neighbouring boroughs.

The New Build Homebuy scheme offered by One Housing Group supports those on lower incomes or who lack deposits into home ownership by allowing purchasers to buy a share of their property while paying rent on the remainder. This makes it a much more affordable option than buying on the open market. New Build HomeBuy properties at Tarling Heights and Watney Plaza proved extremely popular with 75% being sold off plan. The development attracted a high number of first time buyers, bringing young professionals and keys workers to the area and thus helping to create a greater economic balance.

Great care was taken to ensure that affordability did not mean a compromise on quality. Homes at Tarling Heights and Watney Plaza compare favourably with others available in the local area and offer sizable living spaces with modern fixtures and fittings. Energy efficiency and environmental sustainability were an important consideration and the development achieved a “good” EcoHomes rating. All units in the lower-rise buildings are fitted with combination boilers, an environmentally sound heating system and blocks were designed to take advantage of natural light within the internal corridor, reducing the need for artificial lighting.

One Housing Group is committed to creating diverse and sustainable communities and as such the development was designed to encourage a diverse and balanced community. The size of Tarling Heights and Watney Plaza played a key role as well as the range of housing options provided. The development features a mix of shared ownership, general needs, intermediate rent and private sale units. Much needed five and six bed terraced homes were provided alongside one and two bed apartments to encourage a good mix of families, single and dual occupants and couples.

OHG’s Sales and Marketing team utilised a wide range of marketing mediums to promote New Build HomeBuy properties at the development in order to reach as wide as audience as possible. Whilst some initiatives and publications featuring on the marketing plan had wide ranging appeal, others were very specific and were used to target specific groups.

Gareth Crawford, Group Director of New Initiatives said: ”As a Group we pride ourselves on providing affordable homes that deliver on price, quality and community. We are delighted to receive this award in recognition of the Group’s achievements both in developing high quality affordable housing and the contribution that the development has made to the local community.“

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For further information please contact Fiona Crook at One Housing Group on telephone: 020 7428 4107 or email: fcrook@onehousinggroup.co.uk