New housing scheme underway in Bearley

Construction has started on a new affordable housing scheme to help meet the needs of Bearley residents.

The scheme has been supported by Stratford-on-Avon District Council, who has made some of the land available and provided capital grant funding to enable this scheme to go ahead.

It is being built on vacant land and a former garage court off Oaktree Close, Bearley and comprises a total of seven homes for rent - a mix of 1 bedroom maisonettes, 2 bedroom bungalows and 2 and 3 bedroom houses.

The scheme is being built under the District Council's 'Local Need' initiative, which supports housing schemes that meet an identified local need, including on sites like this located in the West Midlands Green Belt.

It is also supported by the Bearley Neighbourhood Development Plan, prepared by the Parish Council and local community. Occupancy of the homes is restricted by a legal agreement to households with a qualifying local connection.

The scheme is being developed by Warwickshire Rural Housing Association (WRHA), working in partnership with Orbit Group. WRHA specialise in providing affordable homes for rural communities, and have successfully developed many similar schemes within Stratford-on-Avon District.

One particular feature of this scheme is that it will be built using a modular construction method. This helps overcome some of the problems with building on a small site and helps speed up the construction process. It will also result in higher standards of energy efficiency, addressing the Council's declaration of a climate emergency and resulting in lower fuel bills for residents.

The scheme is expected to be completed during 2022.