STUNNING new family homes have been built in a rural County Durham village thanks to a £1m investment by FW Capital, which manages the North East Property Fund.
Acland Homes secured the funding for the construction of five high-quality new houses at Cotherstone Village, in County Durham.
The four-bedroom detached houses, part of a development of eight homes, are nestled within the Cotherstone Conservation Area and are within walking distance of the village amenities which include a shop, post office, village hall, two pubs and a popular primary school.
The development is of the highest quality local craftsmanship, with nearby quarries used for stone and materials. A reservation has already been secured on one property and there is keen interest in the remaining plots.
Hartlepool-based Acland Homes is a growing house-building company offering bespoke solutions to house-building and site development. This is the first development the company has undertaken in County Durham.
The scheme is well-situated, being only three miles away from Barnard Castle. The Yorkshire Dales National Park, which provides some of the most beautiful scenery in the country, is also located close by.
The North East Property Fund was established with the aim of supporting the development of small-scale property schemes and is backed by Santander and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
It offers loans from £250,000 up to £1m for residential and non-speculative commercial developments in Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and County Durham. The Fund can provide up to 100% of build costs for suitable schemes with repayment terms available up to two years.
Cotherstone Village is the second scheme the NEPF has financed in this part of County Durham, following a previous scheme in Whorlton in 2019, which proved extremely popular.
Steve Litherland, Acland Homes Director, said: “The funding from FW Capital has helped to turn our plans for these stunning new homes into reality.
“Acland Homes prides itself on making a strong and positive contribution to the areas in which we build by creating jobs, improving local landscapes and most importantly providing high-quality new homes for local communities. We have already seen much interest in this development and expect it to be very popular.
“Through the North East Property Fund, we were able to quickly access the investment that we needed and found the application process straightforward. FW Capital was an ideal funding partner and we are grateful to them for their support.”
Tony Cullen, Investment Executive at FW Capital, said: “FW Capital's North East Property Fund provides financing to smaller local construction and property development companies to help increase the availability of high-quality housing such as this.
“We are delighted to support Acland Homes in its first scheme County Durham. The impact of this investment has been much-needed new homes, and we are proud to be a part of that.”
Helen Golightly, Chief Executive at the North East LEP, said: “The team at Acland Homes has produced five family homes using local skills and craftsmanship. Supporting local jobs is a key aim of the North East Property Fund and I hope seeing this development come to fruition will encourage other developers to apply.”
Jamie Fraser, Relationship Director, Santander UK, commented: ‘The housing sector has rebounded strongly from the initial challenges of COVID, buoyed by the removal of stamp duty and the underlying supply and demand dynamics. I’m delighted that our funding for the North East Property Fund is supporting job creation and providing access to finance for regional SME housebuilders to complete family homes such as these which are in high demand.”
There are eight houses in total on the Cotherstone Village development. The first properties are on sale now at £369,995 and will be ready for occupation in March/April 2021.
For more information, visit https://www.aclandhomes.co.uk/
