A £9.1 million development of 77 new affordable homes by Waterloo Housing Group in Burton Latimer in Kettering Borough has been officially opened by the town’s mayor, Councillor Roger Knight.
The mayor planted a tree on open space at the new development off Bridle Road, which is made up of four new roads: Mutlow Drive, Dearlove Road, Gardner Road and Walden Road.
The new housing is the successful result of a partnership between Kettering Borough Council and Waterloo, with the support of developer Westleigh Partnership Homes and Burton Latimer Town Council.
It offers a wide variety of family housing, mainly two and three bedroom houses but also some four-bedroom houses, including one adapted to meet the needs of a disabled child, and five bungalows suitable for older people and wheelchair users.
Fifty-three of the homes are rented and were let to local people through the councils’ housing allocation scheme. A further 24 homes were sold through shared ownership, on a part-buy and part-rent basis, by Waterloo Homes.
The homes feature solar panels and high levels of insulation to help keep energy costs down for residents.
Built by Westleigh on derelict land which was formerly a sports facility, the development also attracted £2.9 million of grant support from the government’s Homes and Communities Agency.
Councillor Derek Zanger from Kettering Borough Council, who is also a town councillor in Burton Latimer, said: “Waterloo are relatively new to the Borough and have already proved themselves to be a key partner, securing external investment into the area and working with us to deliver the homes that are much needed. The attention to detail and specification in these homes has made a real difference to the families living in them.”
Councillor Roger Knight, town mayor of Burton Latimer, added: “I’m very impressed with the quality of the homes. I’m pleased too that the development’s four new roads feature the names put forward by Burton Latimer Town Council of significant past residents of the town. These include Brian Mutlow, who was an influential figure involved in many activities including the Scouts, the Prince’s Trust, and as local churchwarden, and also Shelia Walden who was a well respected and hard working town councillor and local business woman.”
Maggie Milczarek lives in one of the new three-bedroom rented houses with her husband, son and daughter. She said: “We love our home and its quiet location. We had problems with damp in our previous house. But since moving here my daughter’s asthma is so much better and the house is so warm, even without the heating on.”
