Construction has begun on a new Stonewater development of 87 energy efficient homes delivered to meet the local housing demand in Cambridgeshire.
Of the properties provided, there will be 36 properties available for shared ownership, 32 allocated for affordable rent, 10 Rent to Buy homes and 9 available for social rent. The tenure mix within the development sheds light on the variety of homes that can be brought forwards under ‘affordable’ umbrella, which itself covers a range of levels of affordability. This was the subject of a recent government report, which called for a revised definition of affordable housing, and threw its weight behind social housing as the only truly affordable tenure when accounting for affordability pressures facing UK hosueholds.
Stonewater has implemented several energy saving measures to the homes with the aim to minimise carbon footprint and reduce costs for customers, and contracting partners have committed to provide opportunities for apprentices to work on the site and develop their skills, helping train up the next generation of construction workers and fill the skills shortage in the industry.
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An event to mark the start of development took place on 20th May, which was attended by Stonewater representatives, along with members of the Burmor Construction team.
Nicola Hillier, Head of Development (East) at Stonewater said: “We’re excited to be expanding our home portfolio in Cambridgeshire with the new development at Tunkers Lane. These homes will offer a range of options for local people to secure an affordable home in the village they have existing connections with, contributing to the local economy and broader society.
“This development further solidifies our commitment to creating accessible, affordable housing in rural communities throughout England. We know from the recent Longleigh Foundation report on rural housing that building just ten new rural homes can inject £1.4 million into local economies, so larger schemes like Tunkers Lane can be a real changing point for rural communities.”
Patrick Burke, Director at Burmor Construction, said: “We’re delighted to be delivering 87 houses in Bury, Ramsey, for our client Stonewater. Our ‘start on site’ event two weeks ago with stakeholders marked an important milestone in bringing these vital, high-quality homes to the local community.
“We look forward to working closely with Stonewater and our project partners as construction progresses and to seeing this new neighbourhood take shape over the months ahead.”
The scheme is expected to be complete in the 2027/28 financial year.
