Work begins to deliver new affordable homes in West Oxfordshire

Work has begun on a substantial housing development in Carterton in Oxfordshire that will provide new homes for people in the area.

On behalf of Platform Housing Group, the £33.5 million development at Milestone Road will see 200 homes constructed over four and a half years, with a mix of two, three and four-bedroom houses and apartments in the shared ownership, rent-to-buy, affordable rent and social rent space. The project represents Platform Housing Group’s largest site in the area to date and the continuation of its strategic partnership with Homes England.

West Oxfordshire District Council has provided the Milestone Road site. The homes will be available for affordable rent, shared ownership, and Rent to Buy to suit a wide range of people, including those wanting to save to buy their own homes.

To celebrate work commencing on site, dignitaries took a site tour to find out how much the development would benefit people in the area. This included (left to right in the image above): Gerraint Oakley, Executive Director of Growth and Development for Platform Housing; Robert Courts, MP for Witney & West Oxfordshire; Elizabeth Froude, Group Chief Executive for Platform Housing; Craig Bradley, Senior Manager for Provider Management at Homes England; Andy Graham, Leader of West Oxfordshire District Council and Geoff Saul, Cabinet Lead for Housing and Social Care at West Oxfordshire District Council.

The MP for Witney and West Oxfordshire, Robert Courts, said: “It was a pleasure to visit the site in Carterton, which will provide much-needed affordable homes for local people. It was encouraging to see work getting underway and useful to learn more about how this development will benefit local people and the wider area in Carterton. I look forward to following progress closely.”

Neil Farmery, Construction Director, United Living New Homes, said: “We are delighted to have started building work at Milestone Road. Working collaboratively with Platform Housing Group, we look forward to delivering high-quality, affordable new homes that will provide a welcome housing boost to the local community.”

Group Chief Executive of Platform Elizabeth Froude said: “It’s been fantastic to see the site today where we’ll be able to provide much-needed affordable housing for the area. We look forward to offering people real opportunities to live in the area and even buy a home that is quality and affordable. With 200 different homes, we are delighted to be offering such a large site for our partners at West Oxfordshire District Council, who have been fully committed to these options to help with the growth of the area. I’d also like to thank our developers, United Living and Homes England, for their help in delivering this development.”

Carl Rylett, Cabinet Member for Planning and Sustainable Development at West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “It’s good to see this site come forward for development; affordable housing is greatly needed in West Oxfordshire. We identified the site through the Council’s Local Plan, and granted planning permission in 2020. We are fully committed as a council to bringing forward sites for affordable housing development, and this development will make a real difference to the community.”

The development is United Living’s fourth scheme for Platform Housing Group, following developments in Witney (West Oxfordshire), Crease Drove (Peterborough) and Boston (Lincolnshire).