Affordable homes plan for town dubbed ‘one of UK’s best places to live’
Plans have been submitted for affordable homes in a Pembrokeshire town described as one of the best places to live in the UK.
Wales & West Housing Association has sought permission for 91, one, two, three and four bedroomed homes near Adams Drive, Narberth.
Narberth was featured in The Sunday Times 2023 Best Places to Live Guide, where it was described as having “a town centre that punches far above its weight”.
28 affordable homes are proposed, along with 12 houses as Low-Cost Home Ownership Units, the remaining 51 homes for open market sale.
Outline planning permission for a residential development on the agricultural land site – now lapsed – was approved in 2010.
Agent Asbri Planning Ltd, in a supporting statement, said: “Approximately half of the homes proposed will be for social rent or offered for sale as part of a discounted home ownership scheme for local people who want to buy their own home but cannot afford the high cost of houses in Narberth.”
Local connection
The statement continued: “As a not-for-profit organisation, which operates under charitable rules to bring benefit to their communities, these open market homes would allow Wales & West Housing to self-fund the development without the need for social housing grant or financial support from the Welsh Government. This is therefore an opportunity to provide more affordable housing for local people and families.”
The discounted sale properties will be delivered via Wales & West Housing’s ‘Own Home Cymru’ scheme which helps buyers with a local connection to purchase a home of their own at 70 per cent of market value without the need for a deposit.
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Why any houses for the open market? Surely this is overdevelopment? Basically it’s high time that strict controls were introduced requiring a residency qualification before anyone can purchase and development strictly restricted to local needs only. Social housing should be for local need, key worker or for those with a local connection. Others can rent in the private rental sector until such time as they fullfil the residency requirements. Funding for social housing should be just as council housing in the past, long term loans, (c. 65 years) at favourable rates underwritten by the Welsh Government. This should provide housing… Read more »
The Welsh housing market, particularly in the playground areas in the West, is indeed in urgent need of Welsh Government legislation in order to make housing genuinely affordable for local people. Such intervention will, of course, lead to outrage and “fury” in the London media that will make their opposition to the 20 mph policy look tame. Expect to see their pet insult “xenophobia” make a regular appearance; while many in Pembrokeshire are waiting for such a solution as Paddy proposes, the Telegraph have just published their list of “the best places to retire”, consisting entirely of English towns north… Read more »