Sheffield Housing Company (SHC) “amazed” by demand for the first shared ownership properties it is building in the city.
Sheffield Housing Company (SHC) is considering more shared ownership development following the demand for its first scheme. Within a few weeks of announcing that a dozen shared ownership homes were being made available at its Brearley Forge development in Parson Cross, all had been snapped up.
John Clephan, Project Director said: “Generally the number of shared ownership homes being offered in the city has diminished in recent years, following the introduction of the government backed Help to Buy initiative. This effectively provides a 20% loan towards the cost of the property. So, with our affordable housing partner in this venture – Great Places – we decided to build 12 homes to offer another option to those looking to buy their own place and see whether there was demand. The results have been amazing.”
He continued: “Increasing the choice of housing in an area is an important factor in building and maintaining a strong residential community. The different types of housing tenure available to people certainly contributes to that. As a result, we will consider building more shared ownership properties.”
Matthew Harrison, Chief Executive of Great Places Housing Group, added: “We experienced fantastic levels of demand at Brearley Forge, with all of our shared ownership properties being reserved within 12 weeks of launching. In fact, half were snapped up from plan, demonstrating the need for modern affordable homes in Parson Cross.”
SHC is a joint venture between Sheffield City Council, Keepmoat and Great Places Housing Group, which has a 15-year plan to build 2,300 new homes – mainly for outright sale – in seven of the city’s suburbs. A mixture of two to six bedroomed homes are being built with spacious rooms and contemporary designs.
To date around 325 homes have been completed – 237 sold and 88 for affordable rent and shared ownership. The project has created 120 new jobs and 40 apprenticeships for local people, invested £6.5 million with city region businesses and almost £80,000 in community initiatives and educational support.
Image: Matthew Harrison and Gill Furniss at the launch of the shared ownership venture
