The Key to a New Home
A NEW life has started for the first residents in a state-of-the-art new development on a Middlesbrough town centre estate.
A special presentation was held for the first people to move into the £9m St Paul’s development in Newport under Erimus Housing’s shared ownership scheme.
The company is creating the 94-property development on the former site of three unpopular blocks of maisonettes that were demolished last year after they became a magnet for anti-social behaviour.
Now work on the scheme, made up of a three storey 24 unit apartment block, a four storey 44 unit apartment block, 23 houses and three bungalows, is coming to an end and the properties are starting to be snapped up.
Only one of the three bedroom houses for shared ownership is unsold and Michael Poole, the estate agent marketing the scheme, says interest is high.
The apartments are nearing completion and viewings will be available from January 2010.
Mary and Vince Agar were the first shared owners to move in after moving from their property of 42 years in Gresham under a Middlesbrough Council regeneration scheme.
Mrs Agar, who now owns a bungalow on the development, said: “It is the best decision I have ever made in my life.
“I love it, I am over the moon - and shared ownership has made it more manageable.”
All the apartments have two bedrooms, with an ensuite to the master bedroom and the bungalows and houses are a mix of two and three bedroom properties.
The 24 unit apartment block, as well as 11 houses and one bungalow, are available for affordable rent.
The 44 unit apartment block and remaining houses include a range of tenure options including shared ownership, which means buyers can purchase 50% or 75% of the property and rent the rest from Erimus Housing until they can afford to buy a further share.
Erimus Housing is also currently carrying out modernisation work to its existing homes in the Newport area to bring them up to modern-day standards.
Chris Smith, Managing Director of Erimus Housing, said: “We are thrilled to welcome the first new residents to this scheme, which offers affordable properties at a popular gateway site to the town.
“This scheme not only offers more properties for rent in Middlesbrough, it also gives people who thought they may not be able to afford a property the chance to step on to the ladder, or to buy a home more suitable for their needs.”