1000TH NEW AFFORDABLE HOME BUILT BY VICTORY HOUSING TRUST HANDED OVER
North Norfolk’s leading affordable housing provider has handed over the keys to the 1000th new home it has built since coming into existence in 2006 – which means it has built a new affordable home every 4½ days for the past 12 years.
Victory Housing Trust development director Mark Burghall handed over the keys to the property – one of six new homes built in Stalham in a £700,000 development which forms part of a wider initiative to build new affordable homes on derelict former garage sites throughout north Norfolk.
The lucky recipient of the keys to Victory’s 1000th new home was Jane Craske, who was confronting the prospect of being homeless after a bad experience with her previous private landlord had seen her facing eviction from her Sheringham home.
“It is so nice to get my own home and know that it is secure, somewhere I can really call home,” said Ms Craske, who was born in Blakeney and has lived in north Norfolk all her life.
“When I saw the new flat I was so excited, it really is beautiful. I have never lived anywhere like this before, it’s the best place I have ever lived. Everything is new, the view is lovely, and it is a really nice community here in Stalham. I am so looking forward to living here.”
Victory housing director Christine Candlish said, “To have built 1000 new affordable homes, completing on average one every four and half days since Victory came into existence, is a major milestone.
“When we took over the social housing stock in North Norfolk, our first priority was to bring the standard of every home up to Decent Homes standard – but we said right from the start that our longer term goal was to expand the amount of affordable housing available through an ambitious new build programme.
“Each time we have set ourselves a target to build even more new homes, we have surpassed that target, and we remain committed to accelerating our programme of creating new affordable homes to meet the pressing housing need in our part of the county.”
The six new homes at Campingfield Lane in Stalham were built by locally-based constructor Wellington on the site of former garages owned by Victory.