Herefordshire village's £12 million housing estate finished

The six-acre Malvern Oaks development in Cradley, near Ledbury, has 32 homes for housing provider Stonewater which offers affordable rent and shared ownership, as well as 19 houses on the open market.

The estate, off Pixiefields, benefits from enviable views of the Malvern Hills, developer Living Space said.

Supported by Homes England funding, the development has two, three and four-bedroom homes and bungalows, it said.

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As part of the scheme, there is a large area of public open space with a children’s play area.

The firm said the development opened to the public in Autumn 2020 and all of the homes for sale were matched with buyers well ahead of the build schedule.

Stonewater said there were some delays due to Covid though.

Matt Crucefix, director of development (West and South) at Stonewater, said: “We’re pleased that we were able to work in partnership with Living Space and to provide over and beyond the number of affordable homes required at this flagship development.

“We’re committed to giving everyone the opportunity to live in a home that they are proud of and we recognise that this is especially challenging in rural areas where wages are low, but property prices – in villages such as Cradley – are high.

"While Covid-19 created some delays for this project, it’s great to hand over these high-quality affordable homes in this scenic part of Herefordshire to the people who need them most.”

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Paul Breen, managing director of Living Space, said: “There has been very little new development in this traditional rural area of Herefordshire and so demand for each type of housing has been extremely high.

"From the outset, we worked alongside Stonewater to ensure this partnership scheme raised the bar in terms of quality – both for the newly built homes themselves and the landscaping and communal open space.

“We have really enjoyed seeing the new residents move into their homes and are delighted to be able to mark the completion of this flagship development."