Bath’s newest affordable homes have been praised by council leaders as the latest phase of the Bath Riverside development sees the completion of 55 affordable apartments for the city.
The one- and two-bedroom homes are provided by Bath-based housing and support organisation Curo and were developed by Crest Nicholson.
They provide much-needed affordable housing for Bath & North East Somerset, where private sector rents are the highest in the South West and average house prices are over 11 times mean salaries.
Representatives from Bath & North East Somerset Council and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) toured the new affordable homes and welcomed one of the newest residents, Marzena Domagala, to her new home.
Marzena is delighted that she and her six-year-old daughter can enjoy life in their new apartment with a secure tenancy after years of uncertainty in private rented properties.
Marzena said: “It’s great to know that we are settled in our new home for the long term. It’s close to my daughter’s school and I can walk to work so it’s really convenient too.”
These 55 new homes take the total number of affordable homes provided by Curo at Bath Riverside to 176. A further 37 affordable homes will be delivered on the site by March 2018.
Louise Swain, Curo Executive Director for Customer Service, said: “Demand for housing in Bath is exceptional and opportunities to develop affordable homes on brownfield sites in the city are rare.
“We’ve worked closely with Crest, B&NES Council and the HCA for many years to maximise the volume and sustainability of the affordable housing on this site.
“I’m proud that together we’ve made it possible for people like Marzena to find the right home for themselves, in the right place, giving them the opportunity to live in an area that would otherwise be unaffordable to them.”
Councillor Paul Crossley, the Leader of B&NES Council, said: “We are a key partner in the regeneration of the Bath Riverside development area.
“We have always viewed it as an ideal location for a new community and I’m delighted that this next phase of the development has been able to deliver 55 new affordable homes to benefit local residents like Mrs Domagala and her daughter.
“I have been impressed, not just by the quality of the design and construction, but also by Crest’s plans for future phases. The partnership between the developer, Curo, the Council and the Homes and Communities Agency will be delivering a further 37 new affordable homes on the development area by March 2018.
“The site is being transformed at a rapid pace and is providing an important boost to the local construction industry, the Bath and North East Somerset economy and to the young people working on the development who are gaining valuable skills that will stand them in good stead for their future careers.”
Of the new homes, 42 are being rented to people registered with the local authority’s Homesearch.
The remaining 13 homes are being sold through Curo’s Shared Ownership scheme. Shared Ownership helps people get on the housing ladder by part-buying, part-renting their new home, making home ownership possible without the large deposits required conventionally.
Curo has invested £20m into the Bath Riverside development, on top of a £9.7m investment from the HCA and £5.1m from B&NES Council.
Anyone interested in finding out more about Shared Ownership properties available at Bath Riverside can contact Curo’s Sales team on 01225 366064 or visit www.curo-group.co.uk/sales.
