Thames Valley Housing celebrated the completion of the first phase of their development St Mary’s in Wantage, by inviting the Mayor and local councillors to have a tour of the development.
This was an opportunity for Thames Valley Housing to show the local council a selection of properties available through the New Build HomeBuy scheme (Shared Ownership) – a government-led part-buy, part-rent initiative aimed at helping homebuyers get on the property ladder affordably. Whilst they were at the development, they also met a couple, Helen Wrigglesworth and Jason Sootit, from the local area who had just completed on their first home together.
Councillor Standen said, “I have been really impressed by the properties at St Mary’s in Wantage. They have been designed so that first-time buyers can move into a new property and not worry about kitchen or bathroom fittings, or buying a wardrobe. This means their moving-in costs are kept to a minimum.”
Mayor Patrick O’Leary said, “It has been a pleasure to have a look around Thames Valley’s development, St Mary’s Wantage and to meet one of the young couples who have finally been able to move into their first property together.
“This development provides much needed affordable housing to the area and to people who would otherwise not be able to afford a home of their own. There are so many financial pressures on young people so it is nice to see them being given a helping hand.”
Speaking about Wantage Town Centre, he adds: “Twelve months ago, we were worried about the future of many of the shops in Wantage town centre. This development could attract up to 400 people to move into the area and this has created a sense of excitement amongst the local businesses. It has also been confirmed that a Costa Coffee and Cargo home store will be opening in Wantage, so clearly these large companies see the area has a lot of potential.”
Niki Turner, Assistant Director (Sales and Marketing) at TVH said, “We are delighted that members of the local council were able to come and visit St Mary’s and see how the development is helping young people in the local area get onto the property ladder.
St Mary’s is a very exciting project for TVH and is one of our largest to date. It offers a unique blend of Grade II listed re-furbished and newly built homes which complement the historic architecture, and are already a great success with the first phase of the development selling out completely.”
St Mary’s is a development of one, two and three bedroom apartments as well as two, three and four-bedroom houses available through the New Build HomeBuy scheme. New Build HomeBuy is a government-led part-buy, part-rent initiative, aimed at helping first time buyers, and those looking for help to buy their own home, get on the property ladder. To apply to the scheme, purchasers need to have an annual household income of between £18,000 and £60,000, and can register with their local HomeBuy Agent.
The first phase of the development has now completely sold out, but phase two is due for release in Spring 2010 and Thames Valley Housing are already taking enquiries. The second phase will include three and four-bedroom houses as well as one to three-bedroom spacious refurbished apartments. Prices are to be confirmed.
For more information on St Mary’s or other New Build HomeBuy developments contact the Thames Valley Housing New Build marketing team on Tel: 0845 35 12345 or email the sales team. Alternatively visit www.homebuy4u.co.uk or www.tvha-stmarys.co.uk
- ENDS –
For media information contact: Samantha Nash, BlueIce Communications,
Tel: 020 7937 7537
Editor’s Notes
• Thames Valley Housing is a housing association based in Twickenham, West London. Founded in 1966, the association manages and administers over 13,000 properties in London, Middlesex, Berkshire, Surrey, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Sussex. There are currently over 1,200 under construction. It provides affordable rented homes, shared ownership, market rent and key worker accommodation. Thames Valley Housing also manages the staff accommodation for five NHS Trusts.
• All properties are available to qualifying applicants on a minimum annual income of £18,000 and a maximum of £60,000.
• Prospective buyers will need to be able to raise a mortgage for the share they wish to purchase and pay rent, which is calculated to be as affordable as possible, on the share they don’t own.
• As purchasers are able to afford it, they can then ‘staircase’ to full ownership by buying additional shares in the property. If owners want to sell they can sell the share they own to another purchaser approved by Thames Valley Housing, or they can staircase to 100% and sell the property in the normal fashion.