People in Lympsham will celebrate Christmas in their new homes after the village’s biggest housing development in decades was completed.
The largest housing association in the South West, LiveWest, partnered with EG Carter and had support from Sedgemoor District Council and Lympsham Parish Council to develop a scheme of 20 homes in the area.
Worked started on the Sedgemoor Close site in November 2020 and all residents have now moved into the scheme.
The development has a mix of homes ranging from one-, two-, three- and four-bedrooms. It has an affordable element, with two shared ownership properties and six social rent properties along with 12 open market homes.
The focus was to meet the demand for housing, provide more homes for people with a local connection and the opportunity to rent or buy in an area that has not had housing built for a number of years.
Tony Franklin, Commercial Director for Business Development for LiveWest, said: “Our scheme in Lympsham is a fantastic example of how collaborative engagement between stakeholders can deliver a positive outcome.
“Working with Sedgemoor District Council, Lympsham Parish Council, and our contractor EG Carter, LiveWest has delivered fantastic, high-quality homes for rent and sale in a rural location, and in doing so, is helping to address the chronic housing need in the South West.”
Alan Bradford, Chairman of Sedgemoor District Council, commented: “I am delighted to be celebrating these much-anticipated rural affordable homes in Lympsham. The journey of these homes started way back in March 2012, the Parish Council worked alongside the Local Community, Housing Development Team, EG Carter and LiveWest. The Parish Council was granted funding from the Community Housing Fund to carry out feasibility studies on the site.
“There are a growing number of households especially in rural areas unable to access the housing market. The increasing demand for homes and the widening housing affordability gap is much more prevalent in the rural areas of Sedgemoor.”
Brian Gooding, Vice Chairman of Lympsham Parish Council, said: “This housing scheme provided affordable homes for people with a local connection as well as market value properties and was a long time in the planning stage. Lympsham Parish Council was privileged to work with LiveWest, a strong and reliable housing association with a proven track record.”
Joshua Carter, Managing Director for EG Carter, said: “It’s great to work with all our partners and all the people involved on this to deliver the scheme so it’s great to be able to celebrate that. We really hope the homes we have delivered for residents will quickly become their homes.”
Peter Hieron, lived in a caravan in Lympsham for the last 14 years but is delighted after managing to secure a home at the scheme. He has now moved into his new home and has been doing lots of DIY to put his stamp on it.
Peter said: “I lived on a family run caravan site but the owner passed away so the place got sold on and so it was time for me to move on because the new owners wanted to put planning permission in on it.
“I’m originally from Northampton but I moved down here when my mum became unwell, and she passed away eight or nine years ago so I’ve been on my own ever since.
“It’s really lovely here and it’s quiet, I get along with the residents. I was really lucky to get this place because I was bidding on it for about a year and someone else got it but then they had to pull out. As soon as the homes came up, I thought ‘yes, I will get straight on that’.
“With what I’ve done moving here and my personal achievements it’s good but if it wasn’t for LiveWest I wouldn’t be standing here now — I would probably be homeless.”
