Mid Suffolk District Council offer affordable homes offered to people in Botesdale who can prove local connection

Nine affordable homes in Botesdale will be allocated to lower income households as part of an investment in social and affordable housing across the district.

Made up of two and three-bedroom houses and one-bedroom flats, the properties in Abbots Way will be offered to people who can show they have “a local connection to the district”.

The properties are said to support Mid Suffolk District Council’s commitment to combatting climate change, with air-source heat pumps installed as the primary heating source in the houses and electric heating system in the flats, making them more energy efficient and reducing carbon emissions.

Lavinia Hadingham, who represents the Fressingfield ward, said: “We are committed to everyone in the district having somewhere affordable that they can call home.

“It’s wonderful to see these affordable homes being delivered alongside the development of market homes.

“This is a great example of the investment we are making to ensure we have the right type of housing in the right place to meet the differing needs of people across our communities, while also delivering against our sustainability ambitions.

“This development is not just about bricks and mortar; it is about people’s homes and their long-term sustainable future.”

The nine affordable rental properties will consist of one three-bedroom house, three two-bedroom houses, one two-bedroom bungalow and four one-bedroom flats – making up part of a larger 40-property development by Burgess Homes.

Managing director Simon Burgess said: “We are delighted to have worked with Mid Suffolk on our Botesdale development to provide both rental and discounted freehold homes, which have been built to the same standards and quality as the neighbouring open-market housing.”

The affordable rental homes were secured through a section 106 agreement between the developer and the council, ensuring new developments also include affordable housing for households in housing need or looking to move into affordable home ownership.

The district council has promised an additional 68 new-build housing scheme will deliver further social and affordable rental homes later this year.