Vital affordable homes in north Devon village of Parkham
Photo caption Shared owners Gemma Bayly and Jake Partridge
Local housing association, Westward, has provided three new homes near Bideford with developers, Pearce Construction. The beautiful two bedroom properties, one for social rent and two shared ownership, are ideally situated on the outskirts of the picturesque village of Parkham.
In many rural areas of Devon, the cost of an entry level home is more than nine times the average income. Being based in the far south west, Westward is committed to providing affordable homes that people love and in turn keep rural communities thriving. Houses such as these are a perfect example of this.
Torridge District Councillor Rachel Clarke – Lead Member for Homelessness and Housing Need said: “This is another great collaboration bringing much needed affordable units to the rural market and my only regrets are that we can’t replicate this more often across the district. Congratulations to the Westward Housing team for another successful project and we look forward to working with them on future endeavours.”
Applicants for the homes needed to provide proof of a local connection to the area in order to apply. We spoke to Jake Partridge and Jemma Bayly, successful shared ownership applicants who said: “Amazing! We’re locals with the village already so it’s just perfect we’ve been able to find a home in the area where we are already so familiar with.”
What are they most excited about in regard to their new home? “Probably a home we can call own! We have worked super hard together to have this so we’re just super excited for our future in our first home.”
“The process with Westward Housing in general has been super easy and straight forward, as first time buyers we didn’t have a clue what to expect or do.”
The new tenants include a young family local to Parkham. They said: “It is exciting to be able to move into a new home where family and friends in the local community are close by to support us. We can start our young family with kind people and the local amenities close by. I have lived in the local parish for the last 15 years, so it is very important to keep my local ties.”
Meeting Westward’s commitment to be environmentally conscious, these properties are heated by economical and environmentally friendly, air source heat pumps and have a green energy (SAP) rating of B.
Rachel Searle, Westward’s Development Director said: “Westward works with both rural and urban communities and it is great to see such a successful development with high quality homes delivered by Pearce Construction, enabling people to get the opportunity to live in our new homes, in the heart of those communities.”
The new estate of Stanley Court in which these homes are situated, is set in a desirable location only a stone’s throw away from the centre of Parkham village and a short drive from the town of Bideford.
The houses themselves are stunning with a generous reception area, two double rooms, a good size gardens and off-road parking - so fantastic properties for commuters, couples and small families.
Photo caption (L-R) Justine Murfin - Westward Sales and Marketing Advisor, Charlotte Allen -Westward Housing Officer, Andrew McMurray - Westward Housing Services Manager, Councillor Graham Bridger - Chairman of Parkham Parish Council, Councillor Rachel Clarke - Torridge District Council, Paul Knox - Pearce Construction Managing Director and Samantha Novak - Westward Development Manager