A young couple with two children will soon be moving into their first home in Ashburton.
Jake and Robyn Laskey, both 25, are currently renting a small ground floor flat with no garden.
They wanted to move to a bigger property so their two girls, Ava, seven, and Alyssa, one, could get more space and stay in the area close to Jake’s family.
They will be moving from a flat to their first home thanks to our development offering social rent properties.
There was a requirement of having a local connection to qualify for the properties. Due to Jake’s connection in Ashburton, they were able to apply for a LiveWest rental property.
Robyn said: “Jake grew up here and we both went to school here. It feels like home for both of us.
“We wanted to move here for the local connection mainly. Being so close to Jake’s family especially his grandparents is really important to us.”
The NHF’s Rural Housing Week takes place this week to promote the work housing associations are doing in rural towns and villages across the country.
It aims to shine the spotlight on the investment housing associations are making in rural communities and the role it plays in offering a lifeline to local people in our market towns and villages.
The couple lived in Ashburton before moving to Buckfastleigh as Jake’s parents lived there but wanted to move back to the area.
They have been trying to get a home with Robyn calling the Devon Homes Choice team looking for options for them to rent as they were desperate to move out of their flat.
They have been on the waiting list for a few years so are so pleased to finally be moving into a development that doesn't come up often with their own parking, downstairs toilet as well as plenty of space for their children to grow up in.
Robyn said: “It’s going to really improve things for us and change our lives. Especially for our eldest daughter who has been asking Santa for a garden for the past five years. This is going to have such a positive impact on all of us.
“The houses are just so beautiful. We’ve got two daughters and they are desperate for a garden and the gardens here are so big – they couldn’t be better. So, we couldn’t be happier with being able to move to this development.
“I have various health conditions both physical and mental, which our current property is making worse, so moving into our new house will most definitely improve my health.
“We’re currently in a mouldy and damp flat so we’re so excited to move in and if we could move in tomorrow we would.”
It’s the first major affordable homes development in the area for 22 years.
We teamed up with Dartmoor National Park Authority, Teignbridge District Council, and local developers Coyde Construction to develop a scheme for 39 affordable homes in the town.
The development includes a range of homes, from one to four-bedroom properties, including a two-bedroom bungalow which will be specifically built for a wheelchair user. The homes will be a mix of 25 social rent and 14 shared ownership properties.
The neighbourhood are looking forward to making the development their home with a few people already knowing each other from the area.
Both have enjoyed the process of seeing their home being built and are very excited to move in.
They are thrilled with the scenic views with the development and the countryside feel they will get from living there but not being too far from the city.
Robyn said: “LiveWest have been fabulous I couldn’t fault them. Especially Blake who has been supporting us, I’ve asked him so many questions and it doesn’t seem like a problem – he’s just lovely. Everyone has just been really good.
“The quality of the homes is amazing. They’re so much better and bigger than we thought they would be. They look so good and they’re a really good addition to the town.”