I recently visited a new site owned by developer Radleigh which will provide nine new affordable homes in Ripley. The site will be known as Wallis Close and will consist of one bungalow, four one-bedroom maisonettes and four two-bedroom houses. All properties will be available for affordable rent, via Futures Housing Group.
The site visit was organised by NHBC, the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK, to highlight its risk management processes and to demonstrate a prime example of much needed affordable homes being built on a former disused site.
According to NHBC figures, new housing starts look set to be much higher in 2015 in Amber Valley than they were in 2014. In 2014 a total of 85 new homes were started in the area but this year, from January to September, 185 new homes have already been started. This particular development makes an important contribution to meet the demand for more affordable homes.
I was pleased to visit the Wallis Close site to see these fantastic new houses being built. They are a great example of how this Government is combining the fastest level of house building for 20 years, to get the new homes we need, whilst also prioritising regenerating brownfield sites to protect our greenfield land.
Tom Finnegan, Joint Managing Director of Radleigh Group said:
“We are delighted to have been able to bring life back into a derelict brownfield site and at the same time provide much needed affordable housing for the area”.
Richard Hartshorn, NHBC’s Regional Director for the East, commented:
“NHBC has worked to raise standards in house-building, and we are delighted to be able to show Nigel Mills first-hand how we are helping builders construct high quality new homes in Amber Valley and across the Eastern Region.”