First baby born at new village in Norwich

The adage new home, new baby had never been truer: the first baby has now been born at Ringland Park, Barratt’s striking development at Queen’s Hills village in Norwich. Baby Tiernan was born 16th July at Norfolk and Norwich University hospital weighing in at 7lbs 9ozs.

Now he’s home, he joins his parents Emma and Philip Harvey and their three other children, Karmen aged six, Callum aged four and Ronan aged 19 months, as pioneers at the new village.

Around 1300 homes are being built by developers at Queen’s Hills, with the new village transforming the former gravel quarry located in Costessey Park; ancient manor parklands dating from the 11th century that include Costessey Park Golf Club.

The Queen’s Hills development will also deliver 86 acres of country park, a new school, a local village centre, a community hall, a children’s play park, a recreational area, football pitches and retail outlets.

Barratt is building a mixture of one, two, three, four and five-bedroom houses and two-bedroom apartments. Landscaping, planting, seating and integrated play areas will ensure a perfect setting, adjacent to woodland and near to Costessey’s vibrant village community.

The house builder has sold almost a quarter of its 165 apartments and houses at Ringland Park, with most of these sold off-plan before the show home opened.

The Harveys have bought a three bedroom house at Ringland Park. Emma says: “My husband designs cars and is currently working for Lotus, so for the last six years we have been moving between America and England. We are due to move back to America at the end of this year and wanted to find a good property that would provide a stable base for us while we’re in England but also one that would also give us a good rental return when we leave. We had looked at other developments in the area but none had the design quality, specification and good room sizes you can find at Ringland Park.”

The scheme includes a ‘Home Zone’ which provides a safer living environment for young families by changing the balance of the street, making the pedestrian and cyclist the equal of a car.

Emma, who is a full time mother but who also specialises in early childhood care, adds: “We feel the development is extremely safe; the terraced houses are laid out in a circle which is a great idea as you can see the children easily and they are safe even when they are off the pavements.”

The two older children attend Eastern School, a couple of minutes away by car, but will relocate to the new school being built as part of the Queen’s Hills development when this opens.

The development has a superb location, with the pleasures of open countryside and the Norfolk Broads within 25 miles, while also offering easy access to Norwich’s city centre, which is around five miles away. A Sainsbury’s superstore is conveniently around half a mile away. Trains from Norwich run to destinations all over East Anglia, with Ipswich around 40 minutes away and the journey time to London Liverpool Street approximately two hours.

Emma adds: “We are ideally placed for our family and friends who live in Eastbourne and Spain; the travel links to Stansted airport are very good.”

Prices for homes currently available at Ringland Park at Queen’s Hills range from £146,500 for two-bedroom apartments, from £193,000 for three-bedroom houses and from £258,000 for four-bedroom houses. First time buyer incentives are available.

The sales suite and show homes are open seven days a week from 10am to 6pm, or visit Barratthomes.co.uk.