EIGHT affordable homes for rent, which were completed and occupied in Cheriton Bishop at the end of January last year, have been named as winners of the Best Rural Housing Development in the Devon Rural Housing Partnership 2018/2019 Rural Housing Awards.

Local residents worked hard to form the Community Land Trust which owns the properties, built by Hastoe Housing Association and leased to them to administer.

CLT Secretary Gill Westcott previously said that the process from start to finish had been “a bit of a rocky road”.

She continued: “We have had to go back to the drawing board several times to make the finances work, to cope with changes in government policy, and then when Brexit caused the pound to fall and costs rose.”

Mid Devon District Council supported the project throughout with both advice and finance.

At a celebratory event in Cheriton Bishop Village Hall last year, the CLT chairman Tim Gorringe thanked all those who had contributed to the new homes, including local CLT members and supporters, district and county councillors, Devon Communities Together, Hastoe Housing Association and Classic Builders.

He made special mention of Steve Watson from Wessex Community Land Trust who had guided and supported the Community Land Trust for five years and helped overcome many obstacles.

The tenants for the new homes are all from the local area, as specified in the letting plan.

The Devon Rural Housing Partnership Best Rural Development award is given to the best rural development completed in Devon in the last financial year.

The judges take the standard of design, consideration of the local vernacular and engagement with the local community into account.

This year’s winners are Hastoe for their development of the eight affordable homes at Higher Shippon, Cheriton Bishop.

The judges found this development to be attractive with a great sense of space.

The homes are built to a high standard of sustainability with air source heat pumps and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery which keep fuel bills low as well as making the homes more sustainable. They also felt that the homes complemented the local vernacular with slate roofs and practical porches that blended in well.

Hastoe’s Development Director, Ulrike Maccariello, said: “We collaborated closely with the Cheriton Bishop community to design and build a development that would enable local residents to remain living in the village they were born and raised in.

"This award recognises the hard work and determination of everyone involved, and celebrates these eight new homes that are both high-quality and affordable.”

The Rural Housing Awards which recognise excellence and commitment in delivering affordable housing to rural communities in Devon.

The Outstanding Community Contribution award, given to a particularly committed community group that has worked hard to overcome many challenges to bring affordable housing to their community, was won by Denbury Parish Council.

Denbury Parish Council has worked hard for more than six years to provide affordable housing in the parish.

It had to overcome significant problems along the way, the biggest challenge being to find a suitable site, which it did by working closely with Teignbridge District Council and the Rural Housing Team at Devon Communities Together.

The Parish Council held several public meetings and consultations along the way, one of which brought forward the owner of the site, and kept the community informed and involved throughout the process.

They worked with Southwestern Housing Society to prepare a local lettings plan to ensure that the homes go to local people. A turf cutting ceremony was held on November 14, which was attended by Janice Alexander, the Rural Housing Enabler.

Both will be awarded a cash prize to spend on a community project of their choice.

This year’s judges were Cllr Roger Croad - Devon County Council, Matt Dodd - Homes England and Dr Richard Yarwood, - University of Plymouth who judged the Outstanding Community Contribution award and Professor Matt Lobley - Exeter University and Co-Director of the Centre for Rural Policy Research and Ken Browse - Chairman of the National Association of Local Councils, who judged the Best Rural Development award.

Sponsors were Hastoe Housing Association, Southwestern Housing Association, Cornerstone Housing and Aster Group.

The Partnership said the standard of nominees was extremely high this year and the judges were very impressed with the quality of the finished developments and the commitment and hard work that was undertaken by the community groups and nominated housing associations.

Devon Rural Housing Partnership is made up of seven rural local authorities in Devon and eight housing associations who all work together to bring forward small affordable housing developments in rural areas, allowing local people to continue living and working in their community.