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John Craven opens new homes in Northumberland

25th March 2011 Print
John Craven opens new homes in Northumberland

The importance of keeping villages alive through affordable housing has been highlighted by rural affairs television presenter John Craven.

The former children’s news reader was visiting the £1m Milecastle Housing development in Falstone, Northumberland, to celebrate the building of the village’s first new affordable homes in almost 30 years.

Falstone sits at the south end of the Kielder Water reservoir and the entire parish has a population of just 252 people.

As an experienced rural affairs journalist, John Craven is familiar with the vital role affordable housing plays in small, rural communities.

He started his BBC career with Look North in Newcastle before launching Newsround in the early 1970s.

Mr Craven said: “It’s a big problem in rural communities that young people have to leave to go to the towns and cities, so the countryside is denuded of a young workforce.

“If young people leave, who will do the jobs that need doing?

“We have an ageing population in this kind of area, so this sort of project is so badly needed. Thousands of villages around the country will be envious of what’s happened here.

“These six families will be able to stay in the land where they were born. It is developments like this which are guaranteeing the future of remote rural areas.”

Located 25 miles north of Hexham, Falstone is a rural village with a newly refurbished tearoom, craft gallery, community shop and National Park information point.

Four years ago, the parish council approached the now defunct Tynedale District Council with concerns that young people from their community were being forced to move away due to the lack of affordable housing.

A Housing Needs Survey in 2007 found there was a housing need in the village and through consultation with Milecastle, the site on Hawkhope Hill was identified for a development of six family homes.

The development was progressed in cooperation with Northumberland County Council and was funded by Milecastle, part of the Isos Group, and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

All the homes have now been let to local people in housing need through the Northumberland Homefinder system.

One of the three bedroom houses has been let to the Banks family. Stacey and Andrew Banks have both lived in this part of Northumberland all their lives, and are now able to bring up their son Cameron in Falstone.

Stacey, 21, who is studying to become a nurse, said: “Sons and daughters of local families have moved into these houses. Before they were built, everyone was forced to move out.

“Now, we’ve had our first child, and hopefully our children will bring up their children here.

“These houses are the best thing to happen to Falstone in a long time. They can help keep the local schools going as well.”

Bill Tebay, executive director of property for Isos (Milecastle is set to amalgamate with Isos), said the new homes in Falstone represented a perfect example of the contribution Milecastle has made to the communities of west Northumberland.

He said: "This is a beautiful part of the county, but unfortunately that can make it expensive and people get priced out of the housing market.
“We know the provision of affordable homes is vital to allow local people to remain here.”

George Scott, area manager at the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), said: “In many rural communities, local people are finding it difficult to find affordable homes. A small development like this can make all the difference for local families who might otherwise have to move away from their roots.”

The Falstone scheme is the latest in a string of rural housing developments in Northumberland supported by the HCA, which has also funded Isos projects in the villages of Beadnell and Lesbury.

Monica Burns, regional manager for the National Housing Federation, said: "Homes in the North East countryside have become increasingly unaffordable for local people over the last 10 years leaving many working in rural areas with no hope of getting on the housing ladder.

“The 'affordability gap' between wages and house prices has widened in every rural district in the county, and Northumberland is home to some of the biggest changes.

“Our rural housing campaign highlights that just a small number of affordable homes can make a huge difference - that is why the Falstone development is so vital.”
 

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John Craven opens new homes in Northumberland