Affordable Homes for Local People in Hope
06/02/2009
The completed development of 2-bedroomed houses for rent was funded by a £339,000 grant from the newly formed Homes and Communities Agency and a grant of £33,000 from High Peak Borough Council.
The new homes, on Castleton Road, will help to meet the demand for housing that was identified in a parish needs survey in September 2006.
High Peak Borough Council is working very closely with Peak District Rural Housing Association to find more opportunities to provide affordable housing in the area. The Association specialises in providing affordable homes in rural communities in and around the Peak District.
Alison Clamp, Development Manager for Peak District Rural Housing Association, said: “We have been trying for several years to develop homes for people in Hope. These houses are much needed for local people who are otherwise priced out of housing in the village.
“We are delighted with these four which seem to blend in very well with the village. I am sure the new tenants will be delighted. Our thanks go to all who have worked with us to make the homes a possibility. The Parish Council who supported the scheme, our development agents - East Midlands Housing Association and our colleagues at High Peak Borough Council who provided extra grant.”
Andrew Bingham, High Peak Borough Council’s Executive Councillor for Social and Community Development, said: “The provision of affordable housing is one of the Council’s top priorities. It is especially important that we make it possible for local people to buy homes in our rural areas so that the communities remain vibrant and sustainable.”
The new affordable homes are in the Peak District National Park. Planning permission was granted by the Peak District National Park Authority on the basis that only people with a ten-year connection to Hope or an immediately surrounding parish would occupy the homes. The condition will ensure that the properties are let to the people of the Hope area, now and in the future.