A new £1.6m housing development, consisting solely of social housing, has welcomed its first tenants.
The new 10 home development in the village of Swannington, is owned by Clarion Housing Group (CHG) and has been designed to provide homes for local people.
The 0.45 hectare site originally consisted of four homes but over the past 12-months Clarion, with the help of King’s Lynn firm T.M. Brown, has redeveloped the plot to contain 10 homes, two semi-detached one-bedroom bungalows, two semi-detached one-bedroom houses, three semi-detached two-bedroom houses, and three semi-detached three-bedroom houses.
All of the new homes are for social rent, meaning tenants pay rent which is cheaper than the average charged by private landlords and at a price that is calculated using a formula set by the government.
Social housing is normally prioritised for people with strong or existing local links.
After building work on the new development was completed people began moving into the new homes in February. Among them was Joseph Watson, a 31-year-old retail assistant who unable to afford to rent privately or get a mortgage had previously lived with his parents in the village.
Mr Watson's existing links to Swannington meant he was eligible to be shortlisted for a home in the new development.
He said: "I had been dreaming about having my own place for a very long time, but everything seemed to be against me. I am so happy to finally have a home of my own in a place I am already familiar with.
"I feel very fortunate and I won’t waste this opportunity. It’s spurred me on to progress in life.”
Richard Cook, Clarion’s group director of development, said: “Through careful consideration of the site and how it could be maximised, this new development is providing much-needed additional social housing in the area, exclusively for people with a local connection to the area.
"It builds on our commitment to Broadland, where we already have more than 4,000 existing homes. We hope the residents will be very happy in their new community for years to come.”
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