Somerset villagers invited to special home exhibition

Published by pdavey for Flourish Homes in Housing and also in Communities

Residents in a Somerset village are being invited to a special exhibition to find out more about Mendip Housing’s plans to build new homes in their community.

The Shepton Mallet-based housing association, which has around 4,200 homes across Mendip, is looking to build 28 new homes in the village of Coleford, which is near to Frome. The plan is to build four one-bedroomed flats, seven two-bedroomed houses, 14 three-bedroomed houses and three four-bedroomed homes over a two year period at a cost of more than £3 million on a special rural exception site.

Mendip Housing, which is a member of the Aster Group, has organised a special exhibition in the village on Thursday February 19 for residents to meet Mendip Housing and Aster Group development staff as well as the architects and contractors which will be working on designing and building the homes if planning permission is given. They’ll get the chance to see plans for the site, find out more about the homes that may be built and have their say on the development before Mendip Housing pulls together its final planning application to submit to Mendip District Council.

“We’re really excited about the prospect of building these village homes,” said Mendip Housing’s Managing Director Alan Brunt.

“Mendip’s a lovely place to live but for many local people that beauty comes with a price tag they’ll never be able to afford when it comes to buying houses, even in the current economic climate. That’s why having affordable rented homes, particularly in our villages, is so vital.

“This rural exception site has only become possible after a lot of hard work by the landowner, parish council, district council and Mendip Housing. We’ve got great plans for the homes, including some eco-features like super insulation and water conservation measures which means they should really help future tenants save energy, water and their pocket!

“We’re proud of what we’ve got planned for the village so we hope to see lots of residents at the exhibition where they can meet our staff, hear what we’re proposing and have their say. Hearing villagers’ views will be really useful for us before we start putting our planning application together, which we’re due to submit next month.”