The Rural Housing Trust and Moat welcome HRH The Princess Royal to Fosters Close in Stock, Essex

On Tuesday 30 June, HRH The Princess Royal opened Fosters Close in Stock, Essex. The development comprises ten affordable new homes. Seven of these homes were available to local residents for affordable rent through Moat who obtained funding for the scheme from the national housing and regeneration agency, The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and three of the homes were made available for shared ownership through The Rural Housing Trust, of which Her Royal Highness is President.

Jackie Rose, Investment Manager for the Homes and Communities Agency says; “One of the core aims of the HCA is to enable the development of quality, affordable homes in places where people want to live. This scheme is a great example of how we have been able to assist local people to stay living in an area where they might otherwise not be able to afford.”

The development has been promoted and developed by The Rural Housing Trust to meet the housing needs of local people who are unable to afford the high house prices in this attractive Essex village. Chelmsford Borough Council supported development on land not earmarked for housing under the rural exceptions policy, which encourages affordable village housing for local people.

The development was made possible with the support of brother and sister landowners, Mark Thomasin-Foster and Jane Wilkinson, who were keen to make a lasting and tangible contribution to the community in which they spent their childhood. Fosters Close was named after the landowners’ ancestors, built by Rose Builders and completed in June 2008.

Moat’s chief executive, Brian Johnson, says; “Moat is delighted to be working in partnership with The Rural Housing Trust at Fosters Close. We were proud to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to the development and showcase the high quality, affordable homes which complement and echo the traditional housing in the village of Stock.”

On behalf of The Rural Housing Trust, Simon Pott, says; “There is a real need for affordable housing in villages and The Rural Housing Trust hopes that this scheme and the successful partnership working with Moat, will inspire other parish councils and forward thinking landowners to embark on similar projects.”

About Moat:
Moat is a housing association providing affordable homes in thriving communities for people in the South East. For over forty years, Moat has delivered high quality general needs homes for affordable rent, supported accommodation and tenancy support services, and has a strong affordable home ownership and key worker housing offer.

Moat is one of the Homes and Communities Agency’s development partners and is also the government’s appointed HomeBuy Agent in Essex, Kent and Sussex. Employing 450 people, Moat provides excellent customer service to residents of our 19,000 affordable rented and shared ownership homes.

In the East, Moat owns and manages over 4,000 homes across 17 local authority areas in Essex and Hertfordshire.

Moat works as an active partner in the Stansted Area Housing Partnership, M11 corridor, Thames Gateway, London commuter belt and Haven Gateway.
www.moat.co.uk
Building communities

About The Rural Housing Trust:
The Rural Housing Trust is a registered charity which promotes the provision of affordable housing in small villages. The Trust has built 350 schemes (3,000 homes) all over England. HRH The Princess Royal has been President of the Trust since 1988. www.ruralhousing.org.uk