This Rural Housing Week, Accent reflects on its ambitious development programme and the importance of rural housing. Every year, the National Housing Federation use this week to highlight the social and economic benefits of affordable housing to rural communities.
Accent has a tradition of supporting housing delivery in rural areas which can be seen by the schemes we are delivering. We have excellent dialogue with Local Authorities and Parish Councils about housing needs and the benefit of building in rural areas, to ensure the housing we provide really is making a difference.
As part of the current Homes England Strategic Partnership programme, Accent is committed to deliver 185 rural homes across the East of England, and the East Midlands. 104 of these have already started on site, and a further 81 homes are due to start soon.
In addition, Accent is delivering 274 rural homes outside the Strategic Partnership, either through our legacy grant programmes or through agreements with housebuilders. 32 of these have already completed with customers moved in, and the remaining 242 are on site. This equates to 459 Accent homes being built in rural areas, providing much needed housing for our customers.
A scheme due to be completed this year is 50 homes in the heart of east Cambridgeshire; Bell Road in Bottisham. With a variety of maisonettes, bungalows and family-size houses this scheme provides much-needed rural homes for affordable rent and shared ownership. This development has been designed with a landscape belt, children’s play area and purpose-built allotment area for the use of the village.
Steve Morris, Director of Development, comments “Accent is committed to providing affordable homes in rural areas; using small local contractors to build high-quality sustainable housing for the future to meet local need.”
