A young mum who grew up in Bedale and now works in the town is one of the new residents benefiting from our new £19.5 million affordable housing development on the outskirts.

Georgia and her eight-year-old son Oscar recently moved into a two-bedroom home at The Hatchery, an 88-home scheme in the village of Aiskew, close to Bedale.

In March, Broadacres started welcoming the first residents to their homes on this development, built on the site of a former hatchery and piggery at Blind Lane. The development features a mixture of one, two, three and four-bedroom houses to benefit a cross-section of the community. All 88 homes have been made affordable with 49 for rent and 39 for shared ownership, the latter enabling people to get a foot on the property ladder without having to secure large mortgages.

Georgia says her new home couldn’t have come at a better time for herself and Oscar. Working in a coffee shop in Bedale, it means Georgia is now able to walk to work and Oscar’s education also hasn’t been disrupted as a result.

She says: “I never expected to have the opportunity to live in a new build home in such a nice area and which is such a fantastic size.

“It really is gorgeous and even though people are still moving in, there is a real family feel in our part of the development, so we couldn’t be happier.”

The development came to fruition in a partnership involving Broadacres, the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, North Yorkshire Council and Keepmoat Homes.

On 17^th April representatives from North Yorkshire Council, namely Council Leader Cllr Carl Les, Cllr Simon Myers, Executive Member for Culture, Arts Housing, and Cllr John Weighell, member for Aiskew and Leeming, joined Broadacres Chief Executive Gail Teasdale and Chair Helen Simpson in touring the development and meeting Georgia.

Gail said: “Georgia is a perfect example of why developments like this are so important because they provide high quality, affordable housing for local people who grew up in and/or work in the area.

“It’s fantastic to know that we have been able to provide Georgia and Oscar with a permanent home and that they now can now plan a stable future in.”

Broadacres was able to secure funding of £1.23 million from the North Yorkshire & York Combined Authority’s Brownfield Housing Fund and £6.23 million from Homes England to put towards the total cost of the scheme.

All 88 homes will be heated by renewable energy air source heat pumps and have other energy saving features, such as triple glazed windows and have enhanced levels of insulation to make them net zero ready. Each home also has a charging point for an electric vehicle.

Cllr Les added: “This development meets our objective of increasing the number of two and three-bedroom homes in the area, improving options for smaller families and couples and allowing older people to downsize, so freeing up larger homes for growing families.

“It has been great to meet Georgia and see her happily moved into her new home.”