First of 32 homes handed over to Stonewater at Living Space’s £12m Malvern Oaks development

The first tranche of homes has been handed over to housing provider Stonewater at Living Space Housing’s flagship Malvern Oaks development in Cradley, Herefordshire. The six-acre development site features 32 homes for affordable rent and shared ownership, together with 19 open market properties.

Located off Pixiefields, the £12m scheme benefits from enviable views of the Malvern Hills. The development comprises a total of 51 two, three and four-bedroom family homes and bungalows. A show home for the open market homes opened to the public during the autumn and all but two of the homes for sale have already been matched with buyers, well ahead of the build schedule.

Steve Davies, Managing Director of Living Space Housing said: “Malvern Oaks is a shining example of how well mixed-tenure development can work. The proportion of the 51 homes which are available for affordable rent, shared ownership and private sale is very equal. There has been very little new development in this traditional rural area of Herefordshire and so demand for each type of housing is extremely high. From the outset, we have worked alongside Stonewater to ensure this partnership scheme raises the bar in terms of quality – both for the newly built homes themselves and the landscaping and communal open space. 

“We are delighted to be able to hand over the first homes to Stonewater and look forward to welcoming the new residents. Working in accordance with our Covid-19 Safe Operating Procedure, construction on the final phases of the development is not due to conclude until the summer.” 

Construction re-started at Malvern Oaks last May – following the first Covid-19 national lockdown –

and the team has been working alongside the supply chain to maintain production and deliver the new homes to both Stonewater and the private purchasers. The first people to move to the development were Wendy Wilson; a Public Health Nurse – currently delivering the Covid-19 vaccination for Herefordshire’s Wye Valley NHS Trust – and her partner Simon Long, a transport manager. The couple moved from the other side of the Malvern Hills.

Matt Crucefix, Director of Development (West and South) at Stonewater said: “We’re delighted to have been working in partnership with Living Space to bring these much-needed affordable homes to this scenic part of Herefordshire and to welcome our new residents! Covid-19 has created its challenges, but it has not stopped our work in delivering high-quality affordable homes to the people who need them most.

“Stonewater is committed to giving everyone the opportunity to live in a home that they are proud of and we recognise that this is especially challenging in rural areas where wages are low, but property prices in villages such as Cradley are high.”

Living Space is a development-led residential planning, design and construction services solution for Registered Providers, PRS Funds, the NHS, Universities and Defence Estates. Having launched to the market in 2019, the company is already well underway with the construction of seven residential developments across middle England, with a number of additional sites in the planning system. The combined construction value of its development portfolio is in excess of £72million, which equates to 580 affordable houses, apartments and bungalows.