Affordable homes for locals

Hastoe Housing Association held a celebratory opening on Friday May 20, of their development of 13 affordable homes for local people.

Called Ostlers Field, the homes have been built on land next to the Rainbow Trout Pub in Broad Oak, Brede. Ten are for renting and three are to be sold on a shared ownership basis. The homes range from one-bedroom flats to three-bedroom houses.

They have been built to a high environmental standard known as  Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4 . This means they cost at least 10% less to heat than the normal standard of homes built in Rother.

This development is made up of entirely affordable housing and can be offered exclusively to local people because the land on which it is built is an “exception site”.  These are plots of land that would not normally be developed, which have been identified by the local community as being suitable for providing them with the local housing they need.

The development has to be carried out by a registered Housing Association. Hastoe Housing Association owns and manages more than 700 homes in over 70 local authority areas. Another association that works in this area is English Rural Housing.

Broad Oak is in Brede Parish and it was Brede Parish Council who first took the initiative nearly 10 years ago to start the process of identifying a suitable site. Rother District Council ((RDC), together with Action in Rural Sussex have been working since 2008 to help identify these sites and were able to help Brede.

Because the ownership of the land could not be established, RDC needed its rarely used compulsory purchase powers to acquire it. The land was then sold to Hastoe.

This development is one of four in Rother, all developed by Hastoe. The other is the eight affordable homes in Staplecross, in Ewhurst Parish, on land next to the village hall. In this case the local farmer made it possible by agreeing to sell the land to Hastoe. Again it was the parish council that played a key role in making this happen.

The construction of the homes in Broad Oak was carried out by Westridge Construction, according to locals, a very helpful and considerate firm. The architects were ECE who were also responsible for designing the impressive schools and community Halls in Etchingham. Another project made possible by the initiative and support of the local parish council.

More developments of local affordable housing would be welcome in Rother and anyone interested should contact their parish council. Action in Rural Sussex are also available to provide advice and support.

Photos: Christopher Strangeways