Construction starts on 80 new affordable homes in Totton

Construction has started at a housing development in Totton which will provide 80 new affordable homes.

Nestled on the edge of the New Forest, the new homes being delivered by leading housing association Aster Group, will be available for local residents or those with a strong local connection to the area.

The development will mainly consist of two, three and four-bedroom houses along with a small collection of one and two-bedroom flats. All homes will be provided on an affordable basis, with half of the homes available to purchase through the shared ownership scheme and the remaining half offered for rent.

Shared ownership is an affordable way onto the housing ladder. Buyers purchase a share of a property and pay rent on the remaining share. This reduces the size of the initial deposit required and if they want to, purchasers can buy more shares in their property (known as staircasing), eventually leading to outright home ownership.

Amanda Williams, Group development director at Aster, said: “The site in Totton originally had outline planning permission for 80 homes of which 50 per cent had to be affordable. However, we wanted to deliver all the homes on an affordable basis on this development.

“At Aster we have a vision that everyone has a home. We provide a mixture of housing options to meet different needs and this site is no exception. It’s a fantastic opportunity for local people to get on to the property ladder in their own town at a price they can afford.”

Located on Loperwood Lane, the homes are close to local amenities including several major supermarkets together with a number of Ofsted rated ‘Good’ schools. Totton railway station provides links to nearby Southampton and further afield to London Waterloo, Bournemouth, and Poole. There are also great access links to the M27 from the A326.

Within the development there will be lots of public open space, including over 1.6 hectares of natural and informal green space incorporating enhanced ecological features. Protected tress will stay and new play areas with natural play equipment will be installed for residents and the wider local community to use.

The homes are being built by EG Carter & Co Ltd and will be managed by Aster Group, with completion forecast for 2023. It is the largest development the partnership is currently delivering in Hampshire.

Mathew Vye, Associate Director at E G Carter & Co Ltd, said: “E G Carter & Co Ltd are pleased to have started construction at Loperwood Lane, Totton as part of our on-going framework partnership with Aster, having worked alongside Aster from the inception of the development in 2018.

“The project is the partnership’s largest to date and we look forward to utilising all of our experiences and building on our strong relationship with Aster to deliver this exciting and complex project to provide 80 new homes. The work completed behind the scenes to get to this stage has been a great advertisement for a collaborative working relationship with both Aster and the Local Authority.”

Michael Carter, Managing Director at E G Carter & Co Ltd, said: “We are immensely proud to have secured this scale of project with our Framework Partner, Aster, and we will ensure that the project team is fully supported in every way to deliver these new homes to an exemplary standard.”

For more information about the homes available from Aster, you can visit www.aster.co.uk or call the team on 01380 735 480.