New development enables young family to get on the housing ladder
11 December 2006

A recently completed South Somerset Homes development at Jarman Way in Chard has enabled a young family to get onto the property ladder. James and Suzanne Pickrell and their son Harrison who moved into their brand new three bedroom home in August of this year have bought their new home through shared ownership.

Sixteen affordable homes have been built at the development at Jarman Way, 4 of which have been sold for shared ownership and 12 are being offered for rent. The homes are a mixture of two and three bedroom houses and a two bedroom apartment.

James and Suzanne Pickrell with their son Harrison outside their new home

The development has been built by South Somerset Homes’ partnering constructor Rok. The timber frame walls and other elements have been designed and provided by Frame UK who are the leading providers of timber frame homes.

Graham Cook, Head of Property Management at South Somerset Homes, explained about the efficient build technique, “Using these modern methods of construction helps to improve quality and reduce the amount of time on site which means that residents can be moved back into their new home much quicker than if the homes were built traditionally. Visually there is no difference, either internally or externally. Structurally the inner leaf of the cavity wall is built out of prefabricated; engineer designed and insulated panels instead of concrete blocks.”

All of the new homes are insulated in excess of building standards and have gas condensing boilers, which supply the central heating to the homes. The homes exceed current requirements for thermal insulation. Because they are timber framed they heat up quickly and their level of insulation means that they stay warmer for longer and with no ‘cold spots’ are not prone to condensation. The homes have greatly improved sound insulation, in particular party walls and the walls and floors of the flats have additional sound deadening material and special measures are taken to ensure the passage of sound is minimised.

The homes are covered by a 10 year insurance backed guarantee by NHBC. This is in addition to the defects period covered by the constructor.

Suzanne (aged 25 years), James (aged 26 years) and their son Harrison (aged 1 year) were previously living in private rented housing. Suzanne told us how being able to buy their home through shared ownership was something that they did not think was possible.

Suzanne said, “We were living in private rented housing in Chard but wanted so much to buy our own house but simply could not afford it. Buying our house through shared ownership has been the perfect solution for us as we are now on the property ladder in an affordable way. Having a brand new home is fantastic, we are so happy with our new home especially because it is ours.”

Suzanne and James Pickrell with their son Harrison inside their new home

Geoff Atkinson, Chief Executive at South Somerset Homes said, “ Shared Ownership does what it says on the tin. Ordinary hard working people like James and Suzanne who have been unable to buy their own home outright due to the high house prices are able to buy a 50% share in their property and pay rent on the remainder. They will have the opportunity to staircase up until eventually they own it all. At this point this is a job done for us as James and Suzanne will be on the property ladder.”

Shared Ownership is a ‘stepping stone’ between renting and owning your own homes, enabling those families who cannot afford to buy a suitable property on the open market, to purchase a property on a part buy part rent basis.