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Affordable homes help couples on to housing ladder
Rob Jukes and Natasha Joyce outside their new home

Young families and couples are getting a foot on the housing ladder in an expensive part of North Dorset, thanks to Twynham Housing Association which is marking the completion of its first new homes for several years.

The eleven houses and flats are on the northern edge of Sturminster Newton, a rural location where salaries can be low – usually giving young people little opportunity to afford a home of their own.

But these new homes are more affordable because they’re available through shared ownership, a national scheme that allows people to part buy and part rent a home they couldn’t afford otherwise. In this case residents are buying a 40% or 50% share.

Rob Jukes and Natasha Joyce are two of the residents looking forward to moving in around Easter. They say they can’t thank Twynham enough for the opportunity of having this house “to make a start on our lives together.”

Natasha explains:

“We are currently living in accommodation shared with my father. It doesn’t allow for Rob’s daughter to stay with us or for us to start a family of our own. Many factors have meant we cannot afford the high priced houses on the market at the moment, but instead we now have the opportunity of a beautiful new home that is affordable to us.”

Catherine Hansford and her husband are also excited about moving in:

“We have been struggling for years in rented accommodation, unable to make any substantial savings towards buying our own property and we would not have been able to do this without the help of Twynham and the Sovereign Housing Group.”

“We’re now in a position to make definite plans for our future, now we have some stability in our lives and a lovely home in a lovely area.”

Twynham’s Chairman, Ron Manley, said:

“We work in areas where there can be a huge need for affordable housing. Now we are part of Sovereign Housing Group we are pleased to be able to start building new homes again to respond to that need. we hope this is the first of many such schemes.”

Published 16 March 2006
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