A £4.2million luxury mobile home park being built on a former scrapyard will help to tackle Suffolk’s affordable housing problems, the man behind the plan has said.
Alfie Best picked the Mildenhall site for the first of his company's new Premium Developments because of its close links to the town centre and public services.
The owner of Wyldecrest Parks, who built a fortune of £280million from his gypsy roots, believes the mixture of one, two and three-bedroom homes will give over-50s looking to downsize a more affordable option in retirement.
But he promises the homes priced between £79,000 and £199,000 are of higher quality - and moved to allay any fears about the pressure a new housing development close to the town centre would have on roads and existing infrastructure.
"This is the solution to affordable housing for people in this country without compromising at all on quality," he said.
"Park homes have come on a lot in the last 10 or 15 years. They have come on leaps and bounds in terms of the quality of their build. They are built pretty much to the same standard that you would a timber house.
"It's genuine, affordable housing. It's very close to all amenities - it is close the doctors' surgeries, shops and public transport.
"People are not just buying a home, they're buying a lifestyle.
"We create communities, not just homes - the two go hand in hand."
Asked how he would respond to concerns about the pressure new housing would put on Mildenhall, Mr Best - who has a portfolio of nearly 80 parks in the UK - said: "If this was a housing estate, it could've had 200 homes on there."
He also said it was helping the area by redeveloping the scrapyard, which he argued previously had a lot of traffic going in and out of the site.
And he added that Wyldecrest Parks would run the park after its completion in January next year, saying: "It gives people faith that we're not just selling them a home and waving goodbye."
Work is due to start on the site in Rookery Drove Retreat over the next four months.
The site will include electronic gates and CCTV cameras.
? What do you think of the plans? Write, giving your full contact details, to reporter Andrew Papworth here.
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