Ref:PRHP033                                                                                      Date: 9^thAugust 2024

Work completed on new affordable housing development in Shropshire village

A housing association is celebrating the completion of 18 new affordable homes in a popular Shropshire village.

Built by Housing Plus Group in Mount Close, Pontesbury, they're set to provide much-needed affordable housing for people with a local connection to the village.

The development includes a mix oftwo and three-bedroom houses and one and two-bedroom bungalows,and a special event was held last month to celebrate the partnership working between  SJ Roberts Construction Ltd, Shropshire Council, Pontesbury Parish Council and Homes England that's led to the successful completion of the new homes.  

Sarah Boden, Chief executive at Housing Plus Group, explained: "Last month's event was a wonderful celebration of the 18 beautiful new homes in Pontesbury.

"This development is great news for the village, as it offers a range of affordable housing options for people with roots in the Pontesbury area.

"We had a fantastic time celebrating with our partners and look forward to welcoming the new residents to their homes."

Fourteen of the properties are for affordable rent and four for shared ownership,a government scheme helping people get onto the property ladder. It means buyers will buy a percentage of the property, paying a mortgage on their share and rent on the remainder. 

SJ Roberts Construction Ltd was Housing Plus Group's construction partner on the project and commenting at the launch event, Mike Sambrook, Managing Director, said:"Completing and handing over a development is always a time of great pride, especially when it's for a long-standing partner like Housing Plus Group with whom we've built a strong working relationship over many years.

"The properties at Mount Close are not only much-needed homes for the people of Pontesbury, they also boast solar PV panels and Air Source Heat Pumps, making them very cost-effective to run. I hope the residents will enjoy living here."

Housing Plus Group was awarded £1,000,000 in funding from Homes England for the project, a £200,000 grant from Shropshire Council and also had the backing of Pontesbury Parish Council.

The development is built on a rural exception site, which allows land to be provided below market value for residential development - provided it is used to build affordable housing.

Chair of Pontesbury Parish Council, Duncan Fletcher, said: "Pontesbury is a wonderful community to live in and this development is helping to keep local residents in the village they grew up in.

"These well-designed homes at the heart of the village are the result of partnership working between Pontesbury Parish Council, Shropshire Council and Housing Plus Group."

- END -

Caption for image HPG24111_Mount Close:

From left to right:Managing Director at SJ Roberts Construction Ltd, Mike Sambrook; Housing Plus Group's Head of Development Sepp Sargeant;Chief executive at Housing Plus Group Sarah Boden; andChair of Pontesbury Parish Council Duncan Fletcher.
  

Background for editors

Housing Plus Group is a leading provider of homes across a range of tenures, to meet identified housing needs. We also deliver regulated care services and technology-enabled support to help people live independently in their own homes. We offer rewarding careers for around 1000 colleagues, many of whom live in the communities we serve.

We are focused on building a resilient organisation providing even better services for customers and are inspired and guidedby our values: Communication, Learning, Accountable, Respectful, Inclusive, Trust and You.

Following recent significant growth and change at Housing Plus Group, we are delighted to have been recognised with 1 Star accreditation by Best Companies, reflecting very good levels of workplace engagement and a great place to work.

Our dedicated and diverse colleagues are critical to our success. We value our people and offer them challenging and worthwhile careers providing a sense of achievement in a vital sector. It is important that we offer opportunities to inspire our people to help us to make a positive difference to our customers' homes, lives and communities.

Our Group comprises: Homes Plus, Care Plus, Property Plus, Severn Homes and County Town Homes. More information can be found at:www.housingplusgroup.co.uk 

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) requires that all registered providers confirm compliance with the Regulatory Framework, Governance and Financial Viability Standard. Housing Plus Group complies with this standard, holding the RSH highest rating for governance, G1 and V2 for viability. Please visit www.gov.uk to find out more. 

Further information 

Mara Hargreaves  
Head of marketing and communications
Housing Plus Group   
Mobile (p): 07967 967 466
mara.hargreaves@housingplusgroup.co.uk

Ruby Davies
Marketing and communications officer
Housing Plus Group 
Mobile:07485 922776
ruby.davies@housingplusgroup.co.uk

Martin Farrow
CHANGEWORKS Communications
Mobile: 07771 970025
mfarrow@changeworkscom.co.uk