From left, Flagship Diane Allibone, Burmor business manager Jack Wycherley, Flagship project manager Oleg Barsoukov and sales advisor Abbie Clarke.
Families have just moved into their new affordable homes in a new 40-home neighbourhood in a Norfolk village.
Flagship Homes, part of Bromford Flagship, has celebrated finishing the project off Chalk Lane in Narborough, between Swaffham and King’s Lynn.
The homes were built using an innovative method – timber frames were built in a factory from recycled materials before being assembled on-site. The new neighbourhood includes two, three and four-bedroom houses as well as four one-bedroom flats.
Oleg Barsoukov, Flagship Homes’ project manager, said: “These homes look fantastic and we’re really proud to see them finished. By using modern methods of construction, they’re warmer, cheaper to run, and that makes a big difference for households. Most of all, they give people a safe, affordable place to call home – somewhere they can settle and thrive.”
The new streets linking the homes, Willow Way and Oak Tree Way, were named by local schoolchildren. Wildlife gets a welcome too, with bird and bat boxes added to the homes and small gaps built into garden fences to create “hedgehog highways”.
Forty new affordable homes have been built in Narborough, between Swaffham and King’s Lynn.
Twenty-four of the homes are for affordable rent – around 80% of market rate – and 16 are for shared ownership – a hybrid between buying and renting that gives families a chance to get onto the housing ladder with a relatively low deposit.
Burmor Construction, based in Market Deeping, near Peterborough, led the build.
Burmor’s business manager, Jack Wycherley, said it had been a pleasure to work with Flagship and local residents, including the team from the Narborough Community Centre, which sits opposite.
Mr Wycherley said: “We spent time getting to know the team that organises all the positive local activities and fundraising initiatives. Each year, the community centre hosts a large fair for families, friends, and visitors of Narborough, raising money to provide more resources for the centre.
“One of their primary sources of income is a charity raffle, where prizes are auctioned off to raise funds. Burmor and Flagship were delighted to participate in the donation process.”
Walsall-based LoCaL Homes supplied the ECO 100 open panel timber frame system used on the project, and the homes were finished using brick and render to blend into the village surroundings.
Mike Doolan, sales and partnership manager at the company, said: “LoCal Homes is extremely proud to have been apart of this project with its partner Burmor Construction. To see high quality housing being constructed at pace using our ECO100 timber frame systems, it used MMC timber frame construction methods, utilising timber as a material of choice for its thermal and energy efficiency which in turn helps Flagship tenants achieve lower heating bills.”
Flagship has now applied for planning permission for the project’s second phase, which would see another 30 affordable homes built nearby.
About Narborough:
Narborough is a village with a population of just over 1,000, sitting in the Nar Valley between Swaffham and King’s Lynn. King’s Lynn station is about 15 minutes away by car. The village has its own primary school, a GP surgery, shop with a post office, restaurant and local history museum. The community centre acts as the village hub, hosting everything from fitness classes to the annual summer fair that draws people from neighbouring villages.