A County Durham housing association reached a major milestone after officially unveiling its first new build development in the village of Sacriston, near Chester-le-Street, thanks to investment of £340,000 from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

Kevan Jones MP for North Durham joined staff and tenants from Cestria Community Housing to plant a time capsule to mark the official opening of the scheme, which includes 22 two bedroom bungalows.

The time capsule contents were chosen by tenants living at St. John’s Court and Graham Court, which are sheltered homes owned and managed by the Association in the village. The items selected to go into the time capsule included a Parish Council newsletter, old books from Sacriston and a DVD with a recording of themselves discussing Sacriston through the years from the 1930's to present.

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Mr William Eggleston, 90, from St. John's Court spoke about his experiences as a flight engineer during the war, when the Halifax bomber he was in was shot down on D-Day over France, following which he went into hiding for three and a half months.

Cestria also included copies of their tenants and stakeholder newsletters within the capsule.

The new affordable homes, which have been built on the former Crossleas site, provide much needed homes for the area and have been built to the Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes level 3, making them energy efficient, and also meet both the Building for Life and Lifetime Homes standards.

All properties feature off-street parking and private gardens, with two communal landscaped gardens featuring seating areas also provided.

During the official opening, David Butler, Chair of Cestria Community Housing, said: "Earlier this year, Cestria celebrated its fifth anniversary and it is fitting that the completion of our first new properties comes as we now look forward to our next five years. Building new homes is a major priority – we know there is a shortage of affordable housing within the district and we expect this demand will grow in the coming years. These new affordable homes will provide a much needed boost for the area and I would like to welcome our new tenants into these homes. We are delighted that tenants from our sheltered courts have helped put the time capsule together, which will provide an interesting insight into the local history of the area."

(CD/IT)