Regional Director of Homes and Communities Agency to open 30 affordable homes in Bury St Edmunds

Date: Monday 1st February 2010

Time: 9.30am unveiling of plaque, followed by a look round new homes (residents have already moved in)

Venue: Maundy Close Bury St Edmunds IP33 3NT

Who: Terry Fuller, Regional Director, Homes and Communities Agency, Steve Cook, Chief Executive, Havebury Housing Partnership, Councillor Ann Gower, St Edmundsbury Borough Council

Contact: Penny Arbuthnot, Project PR


Terry Fuller, Regional Director, Homes and Communities Agency will officially unveil a £4 million, 30 home development in Bury St Edmunds which has transformed a run down area of the town and was completed well ahead of schedule.


‘Maundy Close’ was named to celebrate the Queen’s visit to St Edmundsbury Cathedral in 2009 to distribute Maundy Money to local residents. The development has transformed the area, where eight poor standard 1930’s flats were demolished to make way for the 30 new homes. They help relieve the pressure for more affordable housing where house prices are amongst the highest in the region.


Chief Executive of Havebury Steve Cook, said: “Nearly 2,000 people are currently on the register for an affordable home home in this area so building new homes is something we care about doing and doing it well. These homes are part of a much larger programme to help the desperate need for affordable homes and we have managed to complete them well ahead of schedule.”


Cllr John Griffiths, Leader of St Edmundsbury Borough Council, said:


“I am delighted that these properties are already providing a home for local people and that they are bringing new life into the area. We will continue to look at every opportunity to develop more affordable housing.”

The new homes at Maundy Close have been built to comply with Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, a new mandatory standard which measures the environmental impact of new builds in nine different areas of sustainability using a rating of one to six, with six being the highest. The areas assessed include energy efficiency and CO² emissions, building materials and water usage.


Green features of the properties include high levels of wall, floor and roof insulation, low energy light fittings and solar thermal panels to provide up to 60 per cent of hot water needs.


The development was funded with the help of a £1.15m grant from the Homes and Communities Agency and built by Baker Construction.


There are a total of 30 properties on the development.


• New homes at 1-15 Maundy Close comprise of six, two bedroom houses; six, three bedroom houses and two, four bedroom houses.


• At 84 to 94 Out Westgate there are 16 new flats comprising 12, two bedroom flats and four, one bedroom flats.

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