DORIAN HOMES IN ON NEW DEVELOPMENT

BIRDS of a Feather star Lesley Joseph is winging her way into Northampton on Tuesday (July 5) for the opening of a new £9.5 million development providing much needed affordable homes.

Lesley, better known as man-eating Dorian in the hit BBC sit-com, is a former Kingsthorpe resident and is ‘flying’ back in to the area to officially open the new Balfour Road development.
East Midlands Housing (EMH) and Nottingham Community Housing Association (NCHA) have worked in partnership with Northampton Borough Council to build 146 properties on the former Northampton Machine Company site. The scheme will be called Balfour Close.

“This scheme has transformed a disused industrial site into a development of good quality affordable homes to meet identified local housing needs,” explained Chan Kataria, chief executive of East Midlands Housing, one of the leading providers of affordable homes in the region.

“Kingsthorpe is recognised locally as an attractive and desirable area in which to live and estate agents report consistently high levels of demand from people looking to buy and rent homes there.

“But more and more people are finding it difficult to buy their own homes in this area because of rising house prices and increased rents. These homes will help people get a step on to the housing ladder and will help build sustainable communities.”

His views were echoed by NCHA’s development director Steve Walker who said: “This scheme has a positive environmental impact – turning an industrial site into residential development but will also help the sustainability of the area.

“It demonstrates our commitment to working in partnership with like mind-organisations to meet housing need, to support communities and to respond positively to the Government’s call for much needed affordable housing in this high demand growth area.

“It also cements our excellent working relationship with East Midlands Housing Northampton Borough Council and the Housing Corporation, which has funded the development.”

The building work has been carried out by Westleigh Development Ltd who are also selling 10 of the new homes on the site.

The majority of the homes – which are a mixture of one and two bedroomed flats and a small number of houses – are being offered at affordable rents to local people through NCHA and East Midlands Housing.

EMH are also offering 42 properties for sale on a shared ownership basis allowing people unable to buy a property outright on the open market, to buy a share in a property and then rent the remainder. They can then buy further shares in the property at a later date. The development will be jointly managed between EMH and NCHA.

Councillor David Palethorpe, Northampton Borough Council cabinet member responsible for housing said “The Balfour Road development is providing 146 much needed affordable homes in the town and is a fine example of partnership working. I am sure that future tenants will quickly develop a community spirit that will reflect the high quality of the homes that have been built on this regenerated site. My congratulations go to all of the partners for their success in this development.”