Connexus are delighted to announce that work is well under-way on construction of 7 new homes on Highmore Street, Hereford. 6 of the new homes will be made available for Shared Ownership, with 1 specially-adapted bungalow already allocated to Herefordshire Council’s Accessible Homes Register.
A 10-minute drive from Hereford city centre, Highmore Street has been home to several pre-fab bungalows owned by Connexus (and our predecessors) for many years.
Being very cheap to manufacture and erect, this type of pre-fab, concrete construction was popular in the years following World War II but these properties were never meant to be a long-term housing solution.
Despite being much-loved by some residents, the concrete walls and poor insulation of the pre-fab bungalows along Highmore Street simply did not meet the high quality that we or our tenants expect. The cost of maintaining and repairing these pre-fab bungalows also did not represent good value-for-money for our rent-paying tenants, something we always consider in the interests of value for money (Connexus is a not-for-profit organisation).
We’re working with Leominster-based contractor G.P. Thomas on 2 sites along Highmore Street, replacing the pre-fab bungalows with modern, high-quality housing. The 2 sites include a mixture of 2 and 3 bedroom homes, all made available for Shared Ownership.
Shared Ownership is a government-backed scheme that offers you the chance to buy a share of your home – taking out a smaller mortgage or using savings to do so - and then paying a subsidised rent to Connexus for the remaining share. Later on, (for some properties) you have the option to ‘staircase’ up to owning 100% of your home. As you buy more shares, your mortgage and monthly rent payments are adjusted accordingly.
