CENTRAL Devon MP Mel Stride cut the ribbon to officially declare an affordable housing development in South Tawton open last Friday (July 5).

The six homes at Cannonmede Cottages in South Tawton have been built on a rural exception site by Hastoe Housing Association in close partnership with South Tawton Parish Council, West Devon Borough Council, Dartmoor National Park Authority and residents in the community.

The development brings the number of affordable homes at Cannonmede Cottages to ten; four other affordable homes were completed by Hastoe there in 1995.

Speaking at the event, Hastoe board member Martin Huckerby said: ‘This development is really only possible thanks to the generous donation of land by local farmer Lawrence Jones.

‘As with the other four homes, these six homes have been reserved solely for local people and must always be kept affordable.

‘Working alongside the local parish council and the local community, we make sure our houses are designed and built in keeping with the local environment and meet real local housing need. Our homes often have a big impact on local village life too, helping to keep families together and local amenities open.’

Mr Stride, who also planted a tree and spoke at the event, has previously visited the site when the houses were under construction in January last year.

‘Delivering homes within the Dartmoor National Park is not easy given the planning restrictions which are rightly in place to protect our beautiful part of Devon,’ he said. ‘But this development is proof that well-thought-out, eco-friendly homes built in the right places can really add to the park and help more local families be able to afford a place of their own.’

The new development of six properties consists of one one-bedroom house, two two-bedroom houses and three three-bedroom houses for affordable rent. All ten of the homes are now fully occupied.

The opening of Cannonmede Cottages coincided with Rural Housing Week, which ran from July 1 to 5.