TENANTS of new homes in Crediton were given the keys to their new property following an opening ceremony earlier this week.

The building of 22 affordable homes at Joseph Locke Way and Station Approach has been celebrated as they are the first new council homes to be built by Mid Devon District Council in 20 years.

The new development consists of two two-bedroom flats, 12 two-bedroom houses and eight three-bedroom houses, which have been built to level three of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

This means that the homes are well-insulated to reduce energy demand, which should lead to lower fuel bills.

Mid Devon District Council invited the tenants to join them for the official opening of the new homes, along with a number of other guests including the Mayor of Crediton, Councillor Frank Letch; the Mayor of Tiverton, Councillor Janet Rendle and representative consultants involved in the project.

Miss Jane Morrison, one of the new residents, cut a ribbon to mark "officially open" the housing development.

She was presented with a bottle of champagne and a bouquet of flowers to mark the occasion.

She said: "I am very happy to be moving to Crediton where there is more to do with the children. I'm looking forward to having the extra space and using the local amenities."

Councillor Ray Stanley, Mid Devon's cabinet member for housing, spoke about his pride in being involved in the provision of the new homes and his plans for future developments of council houses in the District.

He said "It's great to see these fantastic new homes being completed and we're very pleased to see local people moving in. This development will provide a lasting legacy of high-quality affordable housing for local people."

He said he hoped that the new homes in Crediton would be just the start of a programme of provision across the district.

He added that MDDC had a very long waiting list of people in need of such affordable housing and that he was pleased that this was the start of reducing that list.

"This is an exciting time for this authority as it is the first construction of social housing for more than 20 years.