Shire horses from Hook Norton Brewery met some of their new neigh-bours in Hook Norton village near Chipping Norton, where social housing provider Stonewater has recently completed 20 much-needed affordable homes.
The newly completed two-, three- and four-bedroom family homes with private back gardens and parking provision, are part of Taylor Wimpey’s 66-home Bourne View development. Stonewater’s new housing community offers a mix of 14 two-, three- and four-bedroom houses for affordable rent, and six two- and three-bedroom homes for shared ownership. The properties, which have been built to alleviate the shortage of affordable housing in the area, are all within close walking distance of the village high street and local shops and services.
The rental homes will be allocated through Cherwell District Council which prioritises members of the community with a local connection to the area.
This latest Stonewater affordable housing development comes at a time when average house prices in the local area are around 10 times (£307,862*) local annual salaries, and open market rents more than a third (37%) of average monthly income.
Pictured above at the ribbon-cutting to mark the completion of the 20 affordable Stonewater homes in Hook Norton are (from L-R): Arthur Gott, Stonewater Development Officer; Jan Diamond, Stonewater Tennant Services; Gary Owens, Investment and Growth Team Leader, Cherwell District Council; Karen Vince, Stonewater Sales Executive, and Chris Montague, Stonewater Head of Development (East).
“It’s great to see these much-needed new homes completed and ready for local people to move into,” said Chris Montague, Stonewater’s Regional Head of Development.
“Stonewater is always looking for development opportunities to provide truly affordable, good quality mixed-tenure housing communities in villages like Hook Norton, where a growing number of residents, particularly young people and families, are having to leave the area because they are being priced out of the market. Having worked closely with the council on this and other affordable housing schemes in the district, we’re very keen to help tackle the shortage of low-cost quality accommodation in the area by creating more small developments like this one, where they are needed most.”
The Bourne View scheme is one of five Stonewater affordable housing developments in the district. Most recently the social housing provider started construction on a nearby development in Deddington village, which will provide 30 homes for affordable rent and shared ownership.
*Home Truths 2016/17 — National Housing Federation: the average house cost being around than 10 times greater than the average wage.
