Stephanie's Village Dream Becomes Reality
25/09/2007
VILLAGERS looking for affordable housing in Norton could find that they get an early Christmas present this year.
With the properties being complete later this year, Northamptonshire Rural Housing Association, which has developed the scheme in partnership with the parish council, hopes that new residents will be able to move in before Christmas.
“We are delighted that building work is progressing well on this site,” says Jasper Hart, chairman of Northampton Rural Housing Association.
“We specialise in building small-scale developments that blend in with existing properties so that we can meet the housing needs of rural communities.
“Rising house prices and a lack of good quality, affordable accommodation can mean that people who have grown up in a village or those on moderate incomes are forced out when it comes to finding their own home.
“Communities need a mix of people of all ages and backgrounds if they are to be vibrant and sustainable.”
The development, which has taken seven years to get off the ground, will provide six new homes – four two bedroomed houses, one three bedroomed house and a two bedroomed bungalow.
Stephanie Goulden, the former chairman of the parish council, was the driving force behind the scheme. Having attended a meeting on rural homelessness in 2000, she realised young people in the village were struggling to afford housing there.
She contacted Northamptonshire Rural Housing and the parish council and clerk Jane Waterfield worked closely with the association to carry out a housing needs survey which revealed the need for new affordable homes in Norton.
The search then began for a suitable site for the development, with land eventually being provided by John and Pauline Yates, a family with links to the village over several generations.