Major new homes scheme reaches milestone in Okehampton

Meldon Fields, a new 308-home mixed housing development in Okehampton, which will provide 102 affordable homes, has passed the halfway mark with the completion of the 155th home.

Housing developer Aster has partnered with Linden Homes on the scheme, which is due for completion in September this year. Meldon Fields’ final phase is the latest affordable housing community Aster is developing through its successful White Rock LLP joint-venture partnership with Linden Homes’ parent company Galliford Try. The partnership will see a further 480 new homes built over the next six years in the South West.

The new community, which is within walking distance to the town centre and railway station, provides a mix of two, there and four beds houses as well as one and two bedroom flats.  Within the mix there are 35 homes available for shared ownership, a scheme which supports people into home ownership. 

The new development comes at a time when the average house price in the South West is just over £240,000, ten times more than the average salary in the region. Meldon Fields’ homes start at £67,600 for 40% share ownership.

“Having seen construction begin in 2013 on these much-needed new homes, it’s thrilling to see over half of them now completed and this smart new development really taking shape,” says Clare Crawford, commercial director for Aster. “With average house prices in the area out of local people’s reach, communities like Meldon Fields, where shared ownership is available, play a vital role in keeping our country towns and supporting local services, shops, schools and amenities.”

Over the past 18 months, White Rock LLP has created over 350 new homes and 1,500 construction jobs for young people in Devon through its innovative skills training hub in Paignton. The partnership expects to create another 2,000 jobs for local people from the additional 480 new homes its building in the region over the next six years, using its training hub to support recruitment needs.