We were very pleased to have Richard Fuller MP formally open our £5m housing development in the picturesque village of Oakley in North Bedfordshire recently.
Work began with Parrott Construction Ltd on the Lovell Road site in 2018 to demolish the old buildings, a former builders’ yard, to make way for 25 new family homes including 10 for market sale, eight shared ownership homes and seven for affordable or social rent.
Mr Fuller said: “Delivering new homes requires strong partnerships and a sincere attention to quality standards. I was therefore very pleased to join Grand Union and Parrott Construction in visiting this new housing development that offers the opportunity for local people to find an affordable path to owning their own home.”
Phil Hardy, Grand Union’s Executive Director of Operations, added: “We are delighted that Richard could join us today to mark the culmination of this project.
“Here in Parrott Close are our first market sale homes that we built through our subsidiary Grand Union Homes Ltd, in partnership with Parrotts. The profits from the sale of these homes has been used to build more homes here; since buying this site we have built 10 more affordable homes than were originally planned, including four for social rent.”
Dave Lakin, Director of Development & Commercial, added: “This scheme has worked really well for us, delivering more affordable homes than planned, but also selling 10 homes to provide cross subsidy, even in what has been a difficult market over the past 18 months.
“Earlier this year we secured funding to build 1,900 homes across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Hertfordshire over the next five years. These will include social and affordable rent as well as shared ownership, to help those who want to get on the property ladder, and supported housing for those who need a little bit more help.”
(Photo shows L-R: Derek Parrott, Chair of Parrott Construction, Dave Lakin, Richard Fuller MP and Phil Hardy)