Couple relocate from seaside to spa town

When Gary and Debbie North sold their hotel in Newquay, they decided to relocate inland to Cheltenham, and chose a home at Barratt’s Equinox development in the Regency spa town.

“We wanted to move somewhere that offered easy access to our daughters and their families,” said Debbie (48). “Although one daughter lives in Devon and the other is in Suffolk, it’s actually easier to commute from Cheltenham than Cornwall.

“We hardly ever went to the beach when we lived in Newquay, and we particularly like Cheltenham as it has good shops and there is plenty going on. We definitely prefer it here, particularly in the summer months.”

Gary and Debbie, who are semi-retired, bought an Orion townhouse at Equinox and moved in recently.

“Our new house is a mid terrace property and it is lovely and spacious,” Debbie continued. “The accommodation includes an open plan kitchen/family room with French doors to the garden, a first floor lounge and four bedrooms, one of which we use as a study.

“We really like Equinox as it’s a small, select development and not overcrowded with properties,” she added. “We are also very impressed with the service we received from the Barratt sales and on site teams. It’s the first time we’ve bought a Barratt home and we are certainly happy with our choice.”

When complete, Equinox will offer 44 brand new homes, a mixture of apartments, town houses and detached houses. All the apartments have now been sold, but three/four-bedroom Orion townhouses are available, priced from £232,500. Buyers can take advantage of part exchange, for people moving up to a larger property, or HomeBuy Direct, the government’s new shared equity scheme.

Equinox lies just 1.5 miles from Junction 11 of the M5 and there are regular services from Cheltenham train station to Swindon, Bristol and London. Cheltenham has a wealth of shops, theatres, museums, cafes and wine-bars, as well as one of the liveliest music, literary and dance scenes in the south west.

For further details see barratthomes.co.uk.