19/12/2014 - Permalink

First tenants move into ‘new build’ homes in time for Christmas

Related topics: Community / Partner organisations

News from our partners Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing

On Friday 12 December 2014, Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing welcomed the first new tenants into their ‘new build’ affordable properties.

The tenants were given the keys to their new homes in Woodberry Close, Bridgnorth, and this exciting news marks the first time tenants have moved into council-built homes in Shropshire since the early 1990s.

It has been our intention to build new affordable homes since we took up management of Shropshire Council-owned homes in April 2013.  After consultation with tenants, this was included within our business plan.

We are building 68 new affordable homes in the Oswestry and Bridgnorth areas where we manage Shropshire Council housing stock, with 25 being sold under the shared ownership scheme and the remaining 43 available for rent.  The hope is that this will be the beginning of a rolling programme of new council homes in Shropshire.

 Sue Adams, Managing Director of Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing, said:

 “We are delighted to be welcoming our first tenants into our new build properties. It is a significant milestone, as a council has not built new homes in Shropshire since the early 1990s and everyone is very excited.

 It was always our intention to build new affordable homes when the company was established in 2013, and we have worked hard, along with partners, to make this reality.”

 Jason O’Donoghue, Development Manager at Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing, said:

We’ve worked hard, along with our design and build contractor Speller Metcalfe, to build these 68 new affordable homes.  It’s really exciting that we have our first new tenants moving in.

All other new builds are scheduled to be completed by March 2015, so next year has plenty for us to look forward to.”

Also click here for more on this news, and what Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing has to offer.