Behind Turley Court's green doors

A £1.3 Million green housing development in Cinderford (Forest of Dean) opened its doors earlier this week to reveal to the public and local dignitaries, the first glimpse of the beautiful interiors of 10 affordable homes fully equipped with state of the art eco-technologies. Rainwater harvesting technology and solar powered electricity are integral to this green development and contribute towards its long term sustainability.

Guests attending the event included local councillors and key community figures that joined Two Rivers Housing and the Forest of Dean District Council to celebrate the completion of the homes built specifically for affordable renting.

The site, previously owned by the Turley family who have resided in the area for three generations, was identified as an excellent location to build an eco-friendly development that incorporated exciting features that would significantly enhance the ecological value of the area.

The features include butterfly boxes to entice delicate and rare species and hanging boxes to encourage beneficial bugs such as ladybirds. Hedgehog houses and bat boxes have also been incorporated into the development.

The Turley Family joined the opening celebrations to evaluate the development and the contribution it makes towards supporting the local wildlife they were keen to preserve.

This development has been funded by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the Forest of Dean District Council and Two Rivers Housing, with the support of Cinderford Regeneration Board and Cavendish Park Builders. The 10 homes were built specifically for rent to meet the needs of local people.

Mrs Turley said, “We’ve been really impressed with what we’ve seen. I would like to wish the new residents all the best and I hope they enjoy living here like we did.

“It’s exciting to see all the new wildlife friendly touches that have been added onto the site, we used to have a small orchard here, so plenty of wildlife used to visit our garden, it’s nice to think they will be able to return now.”

Vicki Wright, Two Rivers’ Head of Development and Home Ownership added, “It’s our pleasure to welcome local people and stakeholders to celebrate the opening of this new affordable housing development. Two Rivers Housing is focused on providing quality homes that meet the needs of local communities. Working in partnership with Cavendish Park Builders has enabled us both to meet our top notch standards and allowed us to incorporate ecological features that have a major impact on the environment, which we hope our residents will fully appreciate.”