Affordable homes help local people to stay in the area

Spire Homes and Rutland County Council are celebrating the completion of 9 affordable homes at Geoff Sewell Close in North Luffenham.

Roger Begy, Leader of the Council, John Farrar, Spire Homes’ Chairman and other guests will declare the development open at an official ceremony on Thursday 1 October.

Spire Homes had to give priority to the residents and members of the community in North Luffenham and the immediate surrounding villages. This has proved a success as all the rented properties are currently being let, and the shared ownership properties are either sold or under offer.

Syd Overington, former Chairman of North Luffenham Parish Council, who was heavily involved in bringing new homes to the village said,
"The Parish Council is pleased that the affordable housing project has at last come to fruition, and it is especially satisfying that virtually all of the nine homes have been taken by people with a strong connection with the village and locality, so fulfilling their main purpose. Congratulations are due to the various parties who have worked hard to bring this about."
 

The development consists of a 2-storey block of 2 self-contained apartments, three houses for affordable rent and four available for shared ownership. This is a scheme that helps first time buyers and those struggling to buy a home outright by enabling them to purchase up to 80% of the property and pay rent on the remaining percentage.

The scheme was given a grant of £504,000 from the Homes and Communities Agency, which was invaluable to the progress of the properties. Dale Hall, Development and New Business Manager for the Longhurst Group, said,
“Without the grant we could not have developed the scheme to deliver rural homes at the affordable levels we have achieved.”

The properties are all built to Level 3 for the Code for Sustainable Homes. This is a new Government guideline that measures the sustainability of a new home against 9 categories of sustainable design. It measures performance in areas such as energy efficiency, water consumption, pollution and ecology.
 

ENDS
Editors and Picture Editors
All members of the media are invited to Geoff Sewell Close in North Luffenham LE15 8LE on 1 October at 11am and are welcome to join us for lunch after the ceremony at the Fox and Hounds Public House.

INFORMATION
· Tenants of Rutland County Council have recently voted overwhelmingly in favour of transferring their homes to Spire Homes. Spire Homes has been managing the housing service since February 2006. The transfer of the ownership of the homes will take place before the end of the year.
· Spire Homes is a member of the Longhurst Group, which manages over 16,000 properties throughout the Midlands. For further information, visit our website at www.spire-homes.org.uk.
· The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is the national housing and regeneration agency for England, with an annual investment budget of more than £5bn. The HCA was formed on 1 December 2008 along with the Tenant Services Authority (the regulatory body for Registered Social Landlords). The Homes and Communities Agency is a non-departmental public body and our sponsor government department is Communities and Local Government (CLG).