Aldingbourne Parish Council helps launch new affordable housing

Aldingbourne Parish Council had identified the site for affordable housing back in 2021 when drawing up its Neighbourhood Plan. The Chair of the Parish Council joined representatives of Southern Housing, who are marketing and letting the homes, Thakeham, who developed the site, and the Aldingbourne, Barnham and Eastergate Community Land Trust to launch the first phase of homes. Arun District Cllr Carol Birch from the Green Party was also present.

The Wings Wood development, on the site of the former Wings Nursery on Lidsey Road in Woodgate, will provide 71 affordable homes through a mixture of one-bedroom flats and two and three bedroomed houses. All the properties will be affordable, available through shared ownership, affordable rent and social rent, with almost a third reserved for people with a connection to the area.

At the launch, Chair of Aldingbourne Parish Council Michael Warden said: “I’m delighted to help launch the first phase of Wings Wood today. The Parish Council wants more young people locally to be able to rent or buy a home, and local families to be able to stay in the area. We were therefore happy to back this development via the Community Land Trust we have formed with Barnham and Eastergate Parish Council”.

Mike Link, Chair of the Aldingbourne, Barnham and Eastergate Community Land Trust, said: “I have spoken to the tenants who have moved in so far, and they are so appreciative of the priority given to people with a connection to the local area, and thrilled with the quality of their new homes. This is great news, as our main objective is to ensure homes are genuinely affordable for people in the area”.