Help for low income house-hunters to get onto the first rung of the housing ladder has been agreed – with approval for new affordable homes in a Suffolk town.
The project will see the long-awaited redevelopment of a former care home in Eye with 16 affordable homes to be built on the site.
Paddock House, the site of a former 30-bed care home and day centre in Wellington Road, was purchased by Mid Suffolk District Council (MSDC) in 2016, beginning a long-running series of discussions and consultation with Eye Town Council and the community over its regeneration.
The scheme has now been given the go-ahead under the Chief Executive’s emergency planning powers, as a result of the coronavirus emergency.
The affordable homes will be available either to rent by those on lower incomes, adding to MSDC’s housing stock of more than 3,000 council homes, or to buy as shared equity homes.
The development, to be managed by Iceni Homes, will also preserve the former private garden and established Indian Bean tree as a new public space for the community to enjoy.
Council deputy leader and cabinet member for economic development, Gerard Brewster said: “I am delighted that we have been able to work together with architects Ingleton Wood, Eye Town Council and the local community to transform this derelict site into much needed local housing.”
Cabinet member for assets and investments, Peter Gould, who is also ward councillor for Eye, said: “We have listened to concerns and radically altered our proposals over time to find a solution that works, alongside the town’s neighbourhood plan, and responds sensitively to its setting within the town’s historic core.
“Together with the town council and local residents, I believe we have come up with a development that not only meets housing needs, but also retains open space for the community to enjoy for generations to come.”
Andrew Collett, a senior associate and architect at Ingleton Wood, which provided architectural and planning services for the project, said: “There is a real need for high-quality affordable housing in the local area. We are delighted to have played a key role in this long-awaited development which is now poised to bring many positive benefits to the community.
“We paid particular attention to the locality of the site and worked alongside local councillors and residents to ensure that the proposal suited the local vernacular as well as providing a sustainable and thriving community for the town of Eye.”
Work is taking place on the development of a traffic management plan to reduce the impact of construction vehicles through the town.
The homes are due for completion in 2022 – with local residents and families receiving priority in applying for the 10 shared ownership properties for an initial three-month period.
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