Sustainable housing development launched in Diss

A sustainable housing development for over 100 families has been launched in Diss with a site visit, reception and family entertainment hosted by Crossover C-Zero.

The Long Meadow development is situated on a Rural Exception Site which had been approved as a prime location for affordable housing for local people. The development will consist of 114 units in total, with 87 available to purchase at substantially discounted prices and 12 available to purchase on the open market. The remaining 15 have been procured by Flagship Housing Group to let to local tenants.

All properties will meet Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes and are being built by Ipswich based Barnes Construction with the first phase due for completion in January 2011.

Crossover C-Zero and Barnes Construction were joined on site by the Mayor of Diss, Councillor Adrian Kitchen, along with representatives from South Norfolk Council and Flagship Housing Group and Mike Goulding, the East of England Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) area manager for Norfolk.

The Long Meadow scheme is part of a wider programme of renewable construction from the HCA and has received an affordable housing grant worth approximately £780,000.It has also received £3 million funding from the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) Low Carbon Investment Fund.

Goulding says: “It is very exciting to see the Long Meadow development coming to life. Diss and Roydon are fine examples of rural, local communities which have suffered in the property boom of recent years and seen their young people and key workers priced out of their local communities. Developments such as Long Meadow aim to address this issue through the provision of affordable, sustainable housing which is within reach of eligible residents.”

C-Zero director, Simon Linford, added: “It has taken a great deal of work to get this far and today is an important milestone for everyone involved. Long Meadow has received an enormous amount of interest from local people so the chance to meet everyone face to face is particularly exciting as we can actually see the difference the development will make to local people first hand.”