Don’t be coy – Buy in Corby and keep it in the family

In these turbulent times, relocation has become a bit of a buzz word. As families grow, there’s a greater need to move up the property ladder too. However, scaling up can be impossible in some of the country’s most sought after locations.

One Surrey family decided enough was enough, and as the family grew, they decided to up sticks to Corby and have made their home at Bellway’s Observatory development. “It’s quite a move,” said 42 year-old father of two, Pat Coy. “We wanted to make the leap now, while the children are still young, so as not to disrupt their schooling. I have my own audio visual company* which can be run from any location, so we had the freedom to move almost anywhere without the worry about the daily commute.”

When Pat heard his local radio station broadcasting advertisements enticing people to Corby, he was intrigued. He and his wife Sue (36) then took several trips from their home in Camberley, Surrey to see what was on offer in the Northamptonshire town. After deciding that it could be their new base, Pat broke the news to his 75 year old mum, Elizabeth, who lived near the family. It took a week of thinking, but Elizabeth decided to make the move too.

With her four children spread out across the world, Elizabeth was keen to stay near to Pat and Sue and her grandchildren. “I was happy to move,” commented Elizabeth. “Having family close to hand is much more important to me. I should really have been downsizing, but I’ve moved from a three to a four bedroom home, at least I have plenty of room for the family when they visit.”

Commenting on the buying process, Pat said: “We have had a really positive experience with Bellway. Not only were we buying two homes in tandem, but we had two homes to sell as well. This was quite a stressful process and involved us having to reserve twice, as the sale of our home fell through. The sales team have been supportive throughout and whole process, and made our move as easy as possible.”

Oakley Vale is fast becoming the new property hotspot in the region. Located in the Northamptonshire countryside of Rockingham Forest, the development has excellent road links via the A14 to the M1, M6 and A1 making commuting to the major cities easy. Commuters to London can choose from Kettering Station, just 6 miles away, for a regular train service London Euston Station, or equally frequent from Northampton Station to Euston Station and St Pancras Station. In December 2008 the new intercity rail link will be re-established in Corby making Oakley Vale even more accessible.

Oakley Vale has an abundance of open green spaces and a man-made lake with an attractive water cascade but it is convenient too as, adjacent to the development, is a large supermarket and the new village contains a new parade of shops, a pub and restaurant. September 2008, also saw the opening of the first primary school in the new village.

Pat and Sue bought the detached five bedroom Kestrel home whilst Elizabeth bought a four bedroom Falcon house-style. Similar homes can be bought from £194,950. Sue said: “To move to an equivalent sized home in Surrey would have cost four times that amount”.

For more information, log on to Bellway.co.uk.

* For more information on Innovation Audio Visual visit innovationav.co.uk.