Housing Secretary champions affordable rural housing

30th August, 2019

vbolton

Community

Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government

Connexus were proud to welcome Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to our new affordable housing development in Bishops Castle. The development consists of 24 properties, including a mix of affordable rents and shared ownership properties.

Mr Jenrick showed particular interest in the Bishops Castle development after learning how Connexus worked with the Town Council during the planning process, allowing the rural exception site to be developed to suit the town’s housing needs and securing vital grant funding from Homes England.

"Oak Meadow is a good example of how government housing policy is meeting the target of building 300,000 houses a year for the next three years, with 240,000 completed this year.

"A good proportion of these new builds needed to be affordable, with shared ownership helping people to get a foot on the housing ladder.

"I am delighted the Bishop's Castle community have shown their support as a strong local infrastructure is also important."

Robert Jenrick MP

The Town Council had identified the need for affordable housing as a means to retain young people and families in Bishops Castle, a struggle for many rural communities. Mayor Cllr Julie Magill and Cllr Jane Carroll from Bishops Castle Town Council were in attendance, alongside Philip Dunne MP, Ludlow, and many local residents.

Not afraid to get his hands dirty, the Housing Secretary was happy to assist the Connexus Development Team and contractor J. Harper & Son with some bricklaying before chatting at length with local dignitaries and residents alike.

“It was an honour today to welcome Robert Jenrick to South Shropshire and show how rural exception sites such as this are helping to provide communities with the affordable housing they need.”

Richard Woolley, Chief Executive