KEY HANDOVER BRINGS UP A DOUBLE CENTURY OF NEW AFFORDABLE HOMES IN 2017 FOR VICTORY HOUSING TRUST

18th Dec 2017

Paul Pitcher left of Wellington hands over the keys to new homes at Bacton to John Archibald of Victory Housing Trust sm

North Norfolk’s largest social landlord is celebrating building 200 new affordable homes in a year for the first time ever.

Victory Housing Trust received the keys to 24 new homes in Bacton from local developer Wellington, notching up a double century of brand new affordable homes completed during 2017.

Nineteen homes on the site are being made available for affordable rent, with the remaining five new homes being release for shared ownership.

The new homes at Bacton brings the total number of new homes built by Victory since its inception in 2006 to 948.

Victory chief executive John Archibald said, “We know that the best thing we can do to ease the housing problem in north Norfolk is to build more new affordable homes, and we have promised to accelerate the rate at which we are doing that.

“I am delighted that we have completed 200 homes in a year for the first time – that means we have delivered four new homes for local families every week during the year.

“However, we are not resting on our laurels – we have another 72 new homes currently on site, with a further 79 going through the planning process.”

Lowestoft-based Wellington negotiated the purchase of the site at Bacton for affordable housing when the previous owners stopped trading. The land had already been identified in the North Norfolk District Council Local Development Framework as suitable for residential development, and the firm brought forward a proposal for 24 affordable homes.

Handing over the keys to the new homes, Wellington managing director Paul Pitcher said, “This is a great example of how a partnership between a developer and a housing association can create a substantial number of new affordable homes in a village like Bacton, where there is a pressing need for somewhere affordable for local people to live.

“We continue to seek suitable sites to bring forward new affordable housing, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with Victory Housing Trust to do just that in this part of Norfolk.”

The new development at Bacton consists of six one-bedroom flats, one one-bedroom house, four one-bedroom bungalows, eight two-bedroom houses, on two-bedroom wheelchair-accessible bungalow, three three-bedroom houses, and one four-bedroom house. The development has also created a new carpark for the adjacent Duke public house.