THE newest residents of an affordable housing scheme in Okehampton were VIP guests at an official handover ceremony last Friday, to mark the first phase completion of the development. Emma Hemsley and her two children were presented with champagne and flowers by Stan Rodliffe, the chair of South Western Housing Society, following a special ribbon cutting ceremony outside their home at Broome Park. Mr Rodliffe said: 'We are extremely proud to mark the first phase completion at Broome Park. The interest in the development has been very strong and we have pre-allocated more than 50% of the housing here already.' The Society currently manages more than 400 homes across the South West. Broome Park is its first new build handover for more than 10 years. Mr Rodliffe said: 'Building new schemes like Broome Park marks a new phase in our development as we look to double our efforts to help people in housing need. 'As part of our new housing drive, we are working on similar schemes in Silverton and Bridgwater and are expecting to secure further sites for development over the coming months.' The Hemlsey family from North Tawton are the first residents to move into the new 32 home development. The Broome Park affordable housing scheme is a joint partnership between South Western Housing Society, West Devon Borough Council, Barratt Homes, and Tor Housing, in association with The Housing Corporation. Once completed, the Broome Park development will provide 32 affordable two and three-bedroom family homes and apartments, including four shared ownership properties. Established in 1948, SWHS (formally the South Western Co-operative Housing Society) was formed to help those affected by the housing shortages following the Second World War. The Housing Corporation is the Government agency responsible for delivering new affordable homes and regulating 1,500 housing associations across England. Its current investment programme of £3.9 billion for 2006-2008 is its biggest ever and is set to provide around 80,000 new affordable homes from housing associations and private developers throughout the country. For more information on the Broome Park affordable housing development, contact Martin Carney or Yvonne Dennis at South Western Housing Society on 01934 529990.
