Construction work has started at a new housing development on the edge of Desborough, where Bellway and Ashberry Homes are building 700 properties.
A ceremony to mark the ground-breaking was held at the 88-acre site off Stoke Road on Thursday 3 August.
Bellway will be building 350 homes at its development, called Weavers Fields, while Ashberry Homes, which is part of the Bellway Group, will be delivering the other 350 properties at The Wickets.
Detailed plans for the overall scheme, which will include 140 affordable homes available for local people through shared ownership or low-cost rent, were given the go-ahead by North Northamptonshire Council last year.
Luke Southgate, sales director for Bellway Northern Home Counties, said: “Getting construction work started at Weavers Fields is a very welcome and much-anticipated development for this exciting project.
“We and our colleagues at Ashberry Homes have worked closely with the council on the plans for this development. This scheme will not only deliver hundreds of new homes to the area but will also see jobs created in construction and sales during the build life of the site.
“We are keen to forge ahead with the building programme here and hope to have the first homes on the market by October.”
The development, where land will be provided for a new school, will feature new public open space and parkland, including allotments, a community orchard and children’s play areas.
Steve Smith, sales director for Ashberry Homes, said: “There is a strong demand for new housing in this part of Northamptonshire and we have had a lot of interest in The Wickets since we first announced our plans to build here.
“We anticipate that the collection of three and four-bedroom houses at the development will be particularly appealing to families who want to live in a semi-rural setting, in the charming Ise Valley. Parents will be attracted by the range of well-regarded schools in the area, with Havelock Junior and Infant Schools and Loatlands Primary School all within walking distance.
“The development is ideally located as it is set on the edge of the small town of Desborough, which has a selection of shops and services, while the larger market towns of Market Harborough and Kettering are just five and six miles away respectively.
“There are excellent transport links in the area. Motorists will appreciate that the A14 is a five-minute drive, while people wanting to travel to London by train can use Market Harborough or Kettering railway stations which offer regular services to London St Pancras in under an hour.”
