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2 minute read
A room with a view – and some!
Steve Heywood, media manager
Pretty high up on peoples’ list when moving to a new home these days is one with a decent view – well they don’t come much better than this!
A new development in Keswick looks over the Bassenthwaite valley, with the ‘Lord’s Seat’ in the distance. And if that wasn’t enough, behind the homes is the monumental Skiddaw.
What’s more these are affordable homes for local people wanting to stay in the area who are generally priced out by second home buyers.
That is why these homes have a local occupancy requirement on them to stop the second home issue, which is blighting the county.
Housing association Home Group, which owns or manages 10,000 homes in the county, is delivering four of the 11 homes for affordable rent while two are being offered for shared ownership. The other five are being sold by Cumbria based developers Atkinsons.
Home Group’s properties are all two bedroomed, with a specification uplift for the shared ownership homes.
The homes, which were part funded by the Homes England Strategic Partnership scheme, are in the Underskiddaw area and sit on a former garden centre about two miles from Keswick town centre.
Elsa Brailey, head of development and delivery at Home Group, said: “The views from these homes are fantastic and those customers who move here are very lucky.
“But what is more important is that these customers are from this area, or have spent a long time in this area and have contributed to the economy and the community.
“That is why having a local occupancy requirement on these homes was crucial, as it tackles the issue of people buying second homes and using them as holiday lets. This causes a significant drop in population in the ‘off season’ and affects community cohesion, not to mention pricing local people out of the areas.”
Home Group’s first occupants are expected to move in early summer.