A £1.8m development of new affordable homes has given 14 local families the chance to stay in the beautiful, and increasingly affluent, village of Beadnell.

This is particularly important since a report at the end of last year showed an astonishing 54% of Beadnell’s 589 homes were registered as second homes for Council Tax purposes.

Social landlord Isos has developed the new homes on Kennedy Green, off Meadow Lane in the village, to help local people remain in the area at a time when many families have been priced out by second home owners. Isos has developed 10 houses and four bungalows exclusively for local people to live in at an affordable rent.

The development was made possible with almost £800,000 of funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

The planning permission for the new homes was achieved with a legal agreement attached which meant they were allocated to people in housing need and who had a local connection.

-- Advertisement --

Isos is confident the scheme will prove invaluable to the village as it provides much needed affordable homes for local people, in a housing market where those with long associations with the area can often be priced out of acquiring their own property.

Local MP Sir Alan Beith joined Isos Chair Jackie Axelby (left) and new residents Christine and Raymond Bell to officially open the scheme. Sir Alan said: "So many of our villages in this area are in desperate need of local houses for local people on local wages. In Beadnell in particular, more than 50% of the property here is in use as second homes, which puts tremendous pressure on local people – often making it impossible for them to buy. I'm really pleased Isos is maintaining its commitment to build schemes like this."

The bungalows each have three bedrooms, and there are six 3 bedroom houses and four 2 bedroom houses. Isos worked with contractor Turney Wylde to complete the construction work.

Jackie Axelby, chair of Isos Housing, said: "We're so pleased to have delivered these new homes for Beadnell, as there is such a demand for affordable homes in the village. We’re also working on a scheme of 6 new homes in Chatton at the moment, and it’s not long since our Townfoot scheme of 12 homes was completed in Lesbury, so we feel we’re making quite a significant contribution to affordable housing provision in this part of Northumberland."

(CD/GK)