Village homes for rent take shape

Sixteen homes - seven for rent and nine for shared equity purchase - are being built in High Bickington for local people. Those buying shared equity houses will buy a share of anything between 40% and 80% of its value. There will also be a community centre, allotments, a school and another 23 Homes for Sale on the open market. Villagers and the county council created the CPT to take the project forward and a planning application was approved by Torridge District Council in 2003. High Bickington is one of the priciest places to buy a home compared with local wages said a survey Prince Charles even cited the scheme as a success story for the way it was dealing with the shortage of affordable housing. That led to a public inquiry in January 2006 and the plans were rejected. Despite this setback, the parish council and CPT remained determined to continue and in 2008 they won planning permission for a smaller scheme. Its survey said a typical house in Torridge cost £193,161, nearly eight times the average annual local wage of £24,795. Mr Brown, 68, said: "If communities are not going to die we have to find a way to keep young people and families in particular, in the community. The first phase of the scheme is on schedule to be completed by 24 December. It will include 16 affordable homes for rent and shared equity purchase, two open market homes, two workshops for rent and two workshops for sale. Work has also started on a community centre in the second phase. The scheme is thought to be the first of its type in Devon, but another is being planned at Roborough near Winkleigh. Our site will work much better if you change to a more modern browser. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. Homes for Sale