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New homes unveiled in Bolton housing pledge

Picture of Jon Lord, Martin Donaghy and Linda Thomas in the kitchen of the show house at Park Grove, signing the memorandum of understanding

Bolton’s housing leaders pledged to work together to increase the supply and choice of affordable homes as they unveiled a new shared ownership development in Westhoughton.

Council chiefs joined Bolton at Home representatives to see the new Park Grove development, which is under construction off Cricketers Way.

It offers 21 two and three-bedroom homes under the shared ownership model, five of which have already sold.

Bolton at Home and Bolton Council used the unveiling event to co-sign a memorandum of understanding, which will see greater collaboration to increase new housing provision and improve existing homes.

Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Linda Thomas and Executive Cabinet Member for Strategic Housing and Planning, Cllr Martin Donaghy, signed the memorandum with Bolton at Home Group Chief Executive Jon Lord.

The agreement will support Bolton at Home’s ambition to bring 1,400 new properties to the local affordable housing market over the next five years. This is alongside investing a minimum of £19m annually in refurbishing its housing stock of approximately 18,000 homes and delivering neighbourhood regeneration.

It aims to provide more homes through a mixture of its own new-build developments and the acquisition of homes from private sector developers and other providers.

Jon Lord, Group Chief Executive Officer of Bolton at Home, said: “Park Grove is our first new-build shared-ownership scheme and it recognises people want choice in affordable housing, whether it’s working towards owning your own home or renting a property at a rate you can afford.

“We will reinvest the money we secure through shared ownership sales into our housing stock as a whole and regeneration projects that benefit our customers and communities more widely.

“We plan to provide shared ownership options in other areas of Bolton, which will complement our plans to develop more new-build schemes for affordable rent and supported housing.”

Cllr Linda Thomas, Leader of Bolton Council, said: “While we already work closely with Bolton at Home, the agreement we’ve signed will ensure our aspirations to deliver housing growth and regenerate communities remain aligned.

“The new homes at Park Grove look fantastic and offer a great opportunity for local people to get on the housing ladder in a more affordable way.

“This is the council and its partners taking the lead on dealing with the housing crisis to provide homes local people can afford.”

Bolton at Home markets its shared ownership developments through its Stonecross Homes brand.

Shared ownership is a cross between buying and renting a home and is aimed at people who want to own their own home but can’t currently fund the purchase of a home outright. Owners buy a share of the property, usually between a quarter and three quarters, and then rent the part they don’t own at a reduced rate. They then have the option to buy a bigger share in the property in future.

Pictured left to right are: Jon Lord, Group Chief Executive Officer, Bolton at Home, Cllr Martin Donaghy, Executive Cabinet Member for Strategic Housing and Planning, Bolton Council; Cllr Linda Thomas, Leader of Bolton Council.

Take a look inside the Park Grove show home in the video below: