TRADITIONAL TOPPING OUT CEREMONY MARKS CONSTRUCTION OF £2.7 MILLION AFFORDABLE HOUSING SCHEME IN ROUGHTON

Norfolk beer was poured over the roof of new homes at Roughton as part of a traditional topping out ceremony marking the end of the construction phase of 21 new affordable homes in the village.

Darryl Cox, deputy chief executive of Victory Housing Trust, joined Richard Dove from constructor Dove Jeffrey on the roof to pour two bottles of Woodfordes ale over the building, on Chapel Road.

Twelve new homes will be made available for affordable rent to people with a strong local connection to Roughton, with the remaining nine new homes being released for Low Cost Home Ownership.

The topping out marks the beginning of the final fit-out phase of the development, which will be handed over in June.

Darryl Cox commented, “We are really pleased to see this important new development of affordable homes near completion.  Villages like Roughton greatly need more affordable homes so that local people can remain in their home community, which is why Victory has invested £2.2 million in building these homes, with a further £519,000 contributed by the Homes & Communities Agency.

“Our investment means that we have been able to reclaim a piece of derelict and unused land and build high quality, energy-efficient homes.  Only by delivering such quality new affordable homes can we start to make inroads into the significant housing need in the north of Norfolk.”

Since it came into existence in 2006, Victory has built 736 new homes – equivalent to one every five days – with a further 135 currently being constructed.