TWO VICTORY HOUSING TRUST DEVELOPMENTS SHORTLISTED FOR PRESTIGIOUS RICS AWARDS
A development of affordable housing in North Walsham which included the 500th new home built by Victory Housing Trust has been shortlisted for a prestigious Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Award – with another site developed jointly by Victory and Lovell in the running for two awards.
Wood View, on the south-western edge of North Walsham, is a finalist in the Residential category of the RICS East of England Awards. Opened in June 2014, the development is made up of 36 new affordable homes, which were let under a ‘local lettings policy’, with priority given to those with a connection to North Walsham and adjoining parishes.
The £4.3 million development received a £630,000 grant from the Homes & Communities Agency, with the remainder of the funding coming from Victory. The homes – a mixture of houses, flats and bungalows, including a wheelchair accessible home - were built by Norfolk-based Youngs Homes.
Meanwhile a project which saw eight new affordable homes built as part of a wider initiative to construct 27 new homes and a new village hall for Great Witchingham has been shortlisted in both the Residential and Community Benefit categories.
Eades Place, jointly developed by house builder Lovell and Victory Housing Trust, saw 19 open market homes and eight affordable homes built, alongside a new 6,500 sq ft village hall for the community. The new affordable homes were entirely funded by Victory.
Victory chief executive John Archibald said, “We have an ambitious programme of building new affordable homes for Norfolk, with a target of delivering 1,000 new homes in the ten years to 2023.
“But alongside the need to build in quantity, we make every effort to ensure that each of our new developments provides quality homes in a way which will contribute positively to the local environment. That means designing sites in a way which will encourage people to come together in communities.
“At Wood View, with its large public open space and open-plan design, we have been able to achieve this in a way which has been recognised by the accolade of becoming a finalist in the prestigious RICS Awards.
“At Great Witchingham, we worked with Lovell to deliver eight much-needed affordable homes, in a project which also provided the village with a modern and spacious village hall to replace the dilapidated wooden structure which had to be demolished.
“We are the only affordable housing provider in Norfolk which has been shortlisted for these awards, and we are very much looking forward to the award ceremony next month to find out whether we have won.”
The winners in both categories will be announced at a ceremony in Bury St Edmunds on 6th May.
The RICS Awards showcase the most inspirational regional initiatives and developments in land, property, construction and the built environment. They are open to everyone working within the property profession.