Proud to see affordable local homes for local people being built

With house prices continuing to rise across Lincolnshire, it is harder than ever for people to be able to afford their own home.

In 2018, the average cost of a house in the county was £193,502 – putting it way beyond the means of many people.

This means that in South Holland, the demand for affordable homes, to either rent or buy, is high.

At South Holland District Council, we work hard to help those people looking to get on the property ladder by working with a range of partners to increase the provision of affordable housing to meet local need.

One such project recently completed is McLaren Gardens, on the site of the former car dealership on St John’s Road, Spalding.

The council worked with one of our registered providers, Platform Housing Group, to transform this brownfield site into an attractive development of 48 new homes, including one- and two-bedroom properties to rent and two- and three-bedroom properties available for shared ownership.

The £4.65 million development has been partially funded through a £815,000 Homes England grant, and Platform Housing Group has reinvested over £155,000 from previously allocated funds. The remaining funding has been contributed directly from Platform Housing Group.

Shared ownership is a good option if you can't quite afford the mortgage on 100 per cent of a home. Instead it offers the chance to buy a share of your home (between 25 per cent and 75 per cent of the value) and pay rent on the remaining share. Later on, you can increase your share when you can afford to, and in most cases can staircase up to full ownership.

New residents started moving into the shared ownership homes in McLaren Gardens last summer and in October, the rented properties became available for those on the council’s housing register.

Now most of the properties are occupied and the development has come to life as new neighbours get to know each other.

As portfolio holder for housing, I am delighted to see this project come to fruition and the addition of these new affordable homes is a real win-win situation for all involved.

It was a pleasure last week to visit this development to see first-hand the quality design and build of these homes. The finishing touches such as green space and fine quality kerbside fencing was an important aspect of the site’s overall appearance. These are local homes for local people and I am delighted that the development has been 100 per cent supported.

For more information about how the council is helping with affordable housing, please visit our website at www.sholland.gov.uk/housing