Iceni open the door for south Norfolk families
Posted: May 26, 2009
Families in need of affordable homes in south Norfolk are being offered a helping hand thanks to a new rural housing scheme now opening its doors in Burston near Diss.
The new homes have been developed by Iceni on behalf of Cotman Housing Association and will be managed by them. They consist of eight terraced homes in Audley Close, Burston, and some of the funding has come from South Norfolk Council.
The Council tapped into the Norfolk Second Homes Fund to make a contribution towards the development of the eight properties for local needs on land which it previously owned. The Cotman Housing Association homes are being made available to local families.
It is thought to be the first time South Norfolk Council has accessed this fund to raise a £50,000 contribution towards the scheme.
Cotman Housing had bid for another £346,000 through the Government’s Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) with Cotman directly funding the remaining balance.
The Burston site is being handed over this month (May 18) by Iceni Homes who are set to deliver another 300 affordable homes every year over the next few years in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.
Iceni Managing Director Mike Goodson said: “Iceni is delighted to be delivering affordable homes in attractive communities such as those in south Norfolk and to help meet the growing housing need in the county.
“Iceni has an outstanding track record for excellence in finding and delivering new developments and we are pleased to have worked in such a successful partnership with Cotman and South Norfolk Council on this scheme.”
Wayne Tatlow, Cotman’s Housing Services Director said: “We are very pleased that this partnership has enabled us to provide these much needed affordable homes for the residents of the local community”
The eight homes are offered at affordable rents and will include four two bedroom, three person bungalows, two three bedroom four person homes and two three bedroom five person homes.
The contractor was JS Hay and each of the eight homes meets the Government’s green quality standards for affordable housing.
Councillor Derek Blake, South Norfolk Cabinet Member for Planning, Housing and the Built Environment said:
“We strive for a handful of affordable houses in as many of our parishes as possible, specifically for local needs. These fall under the exceptions policy allowing development where normally this would not be allowed.
“These are quality homes for local people. Unlike market housing, these developments are required to satisfy the Government’s six point code for sustainable homes at a minimum level 3.
“Currently we have around 19 parishes progressing these local needs housing developments and that equates to around 100 new homes.
"There is a very real need for homes in the vast majority of our villages for local people who otherwise would be forced out of their parishes - quality homes for local people.”
Iceni work in partnership with Colne Housing in Colchester, Suffolk Housing Society in Bury St Edmunds and Hundred Houses in Cambridgeshire to bring new affordable homes to the eastern region.
