A groundbreaking ceremony has been held for Watford Community Housing’s first development in Hertsmere, which will deliver shared ownership homes — giving first-time buyers the opportunity to get onto the housing ladder.
In order to celebrate works beginning on site, Watford Community Housing’s Chief Executive Tina Barnard was joined by Councillor Jean Heywood, Housing Portfolio Holder for Hertsmere Borough Council, and members of the Housing team at the council, as well as representatives from Watford Community Housing, contractor Mears New Homes and employer’s agent Avebury.
The site, based on Park Avenue in Bushey, formerly contained two bungalows. The new development, known as Park Mead, will include seven one-bedroom apartments, eight two-bedroom apartments and a three-bedroom apartment for shared ownership — providing much-needed affordable homes for people in the local area.
Watford Community Housing gained planning permission for the site in January 2017, and appointed Mears New Homes as the contractor shortly after. With works now underway, the apartments will be marketed from early 2019 and the development is expected to be completed by autumn 2019.
Gareth Lewis, Group Director of Partnerships for Watford Community Housing, said: “We are really pleased to be on the way to delivering our first directly developed homes in Hertsmere. By working with our local partners to build modern, safe and attractive living spaces across Hertfordshire, we can help to provide desperately needed affordable housing for the people in our communities. Shared ownership offers a great opportunity to get on the housing ladder, and we hope these properties will give people the chance to have their own permanent home.”
Councillor Jean Heywood, Housing Portfolio Holder for Hertsmere Borough Council, commented: “With some of the most expensive house prices in the country, we desperately need more affordable housing in the Hertsmere borough and I therefore welcome the development of these new shared ownership homes.
“For first time buyers, this scheme could be their first step towards having their own permanent home and will provide people in the community with the chance to get on the housing ladder. However, this is just the start and the council will continue to support developments that help to reduce the number of people on the waiting list for a new home.”
Tim Carpenter, Managing Director of Mears New Homes added: “I’m really pleased to have seen the start of building alongside our partners at Watford Community Housing and Hertsmere. We will be providing homes for people in the community which are modern, well designed, affordable and will start people on the road to full home ownership. The speed with which the council and Mears have gone from planning to ground-breaking shows that we are a partnership which is ready to deliver new homes to people in this community.”
