A housing association revealed ambitious plans to build 100 homes at the official opening of their first development.
The six affordable, eco-friendly family houses built by Cartrefi Conwy in Penmachno have ensured that local families can stay in the village rather than having to move away.
Over the next 10 years Cartrefi Conwy is planning to invest a total of £87 million in improving existing properties and building new homes which is expected to generate 1,000 jobs and training opportunities.
Among those at the opening was Cllr Dilwyn Roberts, the Leader of Conwy County Borough Council, who was instrumental in setting up Cartrefi Conwy in 2008.
According to Cllr Roberts, the £730,000 development will safeguard the village school as well as the Welsh language and culture.
Cartrefi Conwy decided to press ahead with the scheme after a survey showed a clear need to meet local demand.
The houses at Maes-y-Waen – four three-bedroom properties and two two-bedroom properties – are near Ysgol Penmachno and were built by award-winning construction firm R.L. Davies.
After a massive £40 million improvement programme to bring all 3,800 existing properties up to the Welsh Quality Housing Standard, Cartrefi Conwy are now pressing ahead with their ambitious plans to build a further 100 new homes over the next five years.
Cllr Roberts said: “I am very proud as the person who led on the creation of Cartrefi Conwy and the hope was that houses would be built especially in the rural villages to keep the communities and the schools alive and that local families would have these houses.
“I must pay tribute to Cartrefi Conwy for keeping to their word going back and it gives me great pleasure to see six houses of such a high standard built here in Penmachno.
“They are ahead of schedule because the first thing they had to do was bring the entire county’s housing stock up to the standard of Welsh Housing Quality Standard by 2012.
“It’s important there are families who have a local connection have houses in communities like Penmachno.
“It helps to protect the community and it protects the school but above all that it is a contribution to protect the Welsh language and culture in the heart of the countryside villages, like Penmachno, are the backbone of the language and culture.”
It was a message echoed by David Lowe, Affordable Housing Development Officer for Conwy County Borough Council.
He said: “It’s lovely to be able to deliver affordable housing for the young people who live in our communities to save them having to move away from the villages and the communities they grew up in.
“I’m very impressed with the quality of the build and it’s nice to see Cartrefi Conwy building new houses.
“These houses will be an asset to the community here and hopefully it’ll be replicated in many communities across Conwy.”
Among the new tenants at Maes y Waen is Rachel Wainwright, 32, who has three children Ellie, 10, Harry, five and Aimie, who is six months old.
Rachel, who was born and brought up in Penmachno, is thrilled with her new home and says that without it the family would probably have had to move away from the village because the rented accommodation they were living in was up for sale.
She said: “It was really important that we were able to stay in Penmachno. My family are all here and they look after the children when I work.
“The children are used to being here and they’ve got a lot of friends in the village so it’s really nice now just hearing them play outside with their friends in the street. They’ve never had that before so it’s really good.
“The house is brilliant, it’s really lovely. I would never have been able to get something like this without Cartrefi Conwy.”
Rachel’s partner, Duncan Walsh, 35, added: “I’m a heating engineer by trade so I know a little bit about building. They’ve been built very well and the design with the solar panels is top spec.”
It was a proud day for Cartrefi Conwy Chief Executive Andrew Bowden.
He said: “It’s always been a dream and a vision to actually build Cartrefi Conwy homes and here we are today with six fantastic homes in a rural community.
“This is just the start. We have looked at our finances and we can certainly start looking at building 100 new affordable homes.
“We are looking for new developments – we want to work with contractors and we want to work with developers.
“We want to provide accommodation, across the region and we’re keen to work with like-minded people who want to help us get new homes out of the ground.
“The future will see Cartrefi Conwy invest £87 million in the next 10 years to the local economy, enabling over 1,000 more jobs and training opportunities.
“As part of this process we are committed to using local supply chains so we can maximise the benefit to the economy in the county of Conwy.
“We have a host of exciting projects in the pipeline including ongoing improvements works to existing properties as well as new housing developments.
“Our aim is to become a beacon of best practice in social housing across the UK and showcase how housing led regeneration leads the way to a better future for all.”
