Teignbridge District Council has congratulated the winners of an award presented by the Devon Rural Housing Partnership (DRHP) on their outstanding achievement.
Denbury Parish Council collected their award at a ceremony in Denbury Village Hall. Their Outstanding Community Contribution Award was in recognition of the community group’s commitment to bringing more affordable housing to their area.
The citation from the DRHP reads: “The parish council has worked hard over six years to provide affordable housing in the parish.
“They had to overcome significant problems along the way, the biggest challenge being to find a suitable site. This they did by working closely with a Teignbridge District Council (TDC) housing enabler, and South Western Housing Society (SWHS) with support from Alan Fox of Rural Homes Ltd.
“The Parish Council held several public meetings and consultations along the way, one of which brought forward the owner of the site; they kept the community informed and involved throughout the process.
“The parish council worked with Teignbridge and with South Western Housing Society to prepare a local lettings plan to ensure that the homes go to local people”.
The £1.5 million development was funded with a £191,000 grant from Homes England, £100,000 from TDC, and the remainder funded by SWHS. The scheme comprises nine new affordable homes for local people and one affordable custom-build dwelling. The scheme features a mix of bungalows, maisonettes and houses, along with an area of public open space.
Two of the houses will be for shared ownership – an affordable low-cost homeownership tenure – and seven affordable rented homes. Four of the rented homes are being built to Accessible Homes Standard. The scheme will benefit future occupiers from late autumn this year and will enable local people to live in an area where they would not otherwise have been able to find a home. People interested and with a local connection to Denbury should register on Devon Home Choice by phoning 01626 215200 or going online at https://www.devonhomechoice.com/ For Shared Ownership go to https://www.helptobuyagent3.org.uk/
A turf cutting ceremony held on 14 November last year was attended by Janice Alexander, Rural Housing Enabler.
Commenting on the award, Cllr Martin Wrigley, Teignbridge’s councillor with special responsibility for Housing, said: “Denbury is a prime example of what you can achieve with enough energy and determination to see the job through. The District Council was pleased to be able to provide £100,000 of funding towards this deserving project, which ticks many of the boxes in our own Housing Strategy.
“The parish council identified a problem and worked hard, despite a number of challenges, to find a site and bring others on board to deliver the development. Congratulations Denbury on your award, which is richly deserved”.
Donna Johnson, Chief Executive of SWHS, said: “The Denbury development is a prime example of people working together to achieve common goals. Housing Associations like SWHS simply would not be able to deliver the affordable homes needed without the support of parish councils, local authorities and our partners at Homes England.
“Working with trusted advisers and builders who deliver to high standards is also critically important in ensuring the success of any new scheme. We look forward to seeing the properties occupied as homes”.
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