Social landlord Livewest has completed 42 new affordable homes in Wellington.
The south-west provider teamed up with Freemantle Developments and Classic Builders to develop 26 homes for affordable rent and 16 for shared ownership.
The development, on a brownfield site in the Cornhill area of the town, includes a mixture of one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes.
The scheme also includes historic properties, as well as two Grade II listed buildings severely damaged by a fire in 2008, which have been repaired and converted into four new homes.
The development, which completed at the end of February, benefits from grant funding from LiveWest’s strategic partnership with Homes England, as well as funding from Somerset West and Taunton Council.
‘Renewed vibrancy’
Gareth Jones, Development director for LiveWest, said: “This 100% affordable housing development has revitalised Cornhill and brought a renewed vibrancy to an important part of the town centre – it brings a good mix of affordable homes right into the heart of Wellington.
“The homes were carefully designed to respect Wellington’s heritage and to complement the town’s many fine buildings.
“We are delighted to have welcomed our residents into their new homes, and we hope they will be very happy in this new community.
“Our vision is to create homes and communities that people love to live in, and this is a location which definitely supports this.
“We have a commitment to deliver new affordable homes across the south-west to help address local housing needs, and this development supports our ambitions.”
Councillor Fran Smith, portfolio holder for Housing at Somerset West and Taunton Council, said: “This site is a really important part of Wellington’s heritage, and we’re delighted to see it brought back to life with the help of our Heritage at Risk and Housing Enabling teams.
“We’re pleased to have contributed funding towards this development, which supports our corporate priority of providing much-needed affordable housing in Wellington, and helping people to make a home in their local area.”
Giles Staines, Contracts manager for Classic Builders, said: “Classic Builders are very pleased with the outcome of this project from the new-build homes and the refurbished plots.
“It is great to be able to deliver more affordable housing for our repeat client LiveWest, especially when there is such a need for housing across the country.
“We hope the new residents of Old Court Mews will have many happy years here.”
Nick Warfield, managing director of Freemantle Developments, said: “We were very pleased to have the opportunity to work on this project having been asked to assist the landowners with advising options for developing the site.
“We drew up a suitable scheme in order to reinstate the listed buildings and also bring into use significant overgrown unused brownfield land.
“Early into the concept stage of the project we had discussions with the housing enabling team at Somerset West and Taunton Council (formerly TDBC), who have been very enthusiastic and extremely supportive.
“Between us, we were able to work up a scheme that meets all of the council’s, and most importantly, the town council’s objectives.”
Resident testimony
James Seawell and Becky Ensor moved into the development before Christmas after wanting their own place as they were living with James’ parents.
They were keen to remain close to family and were thrilled to be able to get their first home together with toddler, Oscar.
Becky said: “We were quite stuck before we found these houses. We were in one box-sized room at James’ parents, and it was quite stressful doing that for two-and-a-half years, so it’s nice to have somewhere Oscar can be himself and run around but just have a bit more space for us to grow as a family, so it’s perfect really.
James said: “We were looking to move out and get our first place with the little one.
“Moving here is a really nice place because it’s relatively quiet and very central with all the amenities you need and, within a five-minute walk, you’re in the centre of town – we can’t really fault it, it’s great.
“Our Housing Officer at LiveWest, Caroline, has been really great and if we needed any help, she has been fantastic.
“The whole process has been very smooth, so we couldn’t fault LiveWest at all.”
LiveWest provides over 39,000 homes to over 80,000 people throughout south-west England.
Image: LiveWest staff and stakeholders outside the new Wellington development
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