Leading housing provider Stonewater has kick-started 2020 by getting work at its site in Chard underway, with the support of local contractors and council.
Supported by South Somerset District Council, Thorndun Park, located on Jarman Way, is Stonewater’s latest development in the South West, which plans to bring 23 much-needed new affordable homes to the area.
Ranging from one and two-bedroom flats, as well as two-, three- and four-bedroom houses, the majority of these homes will be available for affordable rent, with seven allocated to the Rent to Buy scheme.
Stonewater’s Rent to Buy scheme gives working families the chance to rent a new, good quality home at 80% of the market value rent, with an option to purchase the home at the end of the five-year tenancy.
With house prices in the South West continuing to rise faster than the average income, the Rent to Buy scheme makes buying a home a more affordable option for aspiring homeowners.
In addition to working with the council to meet the increasing housing demand, Stonewater has also invested into the local economy. By creating and maintaining a vast amount of work opportunities for the scheme locally, Stonewater has been able to utilise the local supply chain in South Somerset — working with existing partners and establishing new ones.
Boon Brown Architects has previously worked with Stonewater on other affordable home projects in the area, but Thorndun Park has also resulted in the organisation partnering with local homebuilder Fisher and Dean Construction for the first time.
Matt Crucefix, Director of Development (West) at Stonewater, said: “With all our developments, we want to build something of great quality and value for people in the town and we also want to do all that we can to help the local communities thrive. Partnering with local businesses enables us to drive collaborative innovation that delivers on what our customers need today – and in the future, helping us to expand our development opportunities by being exposed to new perspectives and local expertise.”
Gareth Flowers, Director of Fisher and Dean Construction, said: “We are proud to be working together with Stonewater on the development of this project. Fisher and Dean Construction are committed to the provision of good quality and well-designed affordable housing across the South West. This development of 23 new homes will have a positive impact on the local community. It is important that housing associations and developers like us, work collaboratively to ensure that the local communities can benefit from affordable housing for years to come.”
Georgina Martin, Architect at Boon Brown Architects, said: “We are privileged to have built such a long-standing and established working relationship with Stonewater, where we understand the significance of ensuring that we deliver high quality housing at best value for the community. As architects, projects such as Thorndun Park give us great excitement as they offer place-making opportunities where we can create unique identities that enhance the surrounding urban and landscape context. Projects such as this focus on quality of living for future inhabitants, this included the design of an interactive public realm space which focused on an existing London Plane tree at the gateway into Chard.”
Header image shows Stonewater colleagues and partners on site.
Stonewater celebrated its fifth birthday in January. To find out more about the housing association’s achievements in the last five years and its plans for the future click here.
