A NEW Droitwich housing development which is the first of its kind in Worcestershire has been given the green light.
Rooftop Housing Group can now start work on building ten affordable homes, some private housing, allotments and a new village hall off Hawthorn Rise in Tibberton.
Wychavon District Council gave the go ahead on September 17 to the scheme which, unlike other housing developments in the county, is unique because it has been led by the Tibberton Community Land Trust.
The charity is made up of more than 100 local people who will be responsible for the development of the application which has been designed to benefit the community.
Residents in the area have been directly involved in designing the layout and appearance of the homes and the new village hall through a series of public consultations.
It is expected the development will take at least 18 months to completed.
Homes will be allocated to those with connections to the parish of Tibberton to help local people continue to live in the area.
The project has been three years in the making and has been supported by Tibberton Parish Council and Wychavon, which has either gifted or leased some of its land at a discounted cost to the Community Land Trust (CLT).
CLTs are increasingly being seen as part of the solution to the nation’s housing shortage with 170 being formed in England and Wales over the last two years.
David Campbell, Tibberton CLT’s chairman, said: “This is an imaginative scheme which demonstrates what is possible by working together.
“Most other CLTs are limited to affordable housing but this goes much further than that with the creation of the new village hall and allotments.
“Our current village hall is 80 years old and belongs to a different era.
“The village has grown enormously since then and this will provide a modern building which will attract people to use it.”
Coun Richard Morris, who is responsible for economy and housing, said tackling the housing shortage required creativity.
He added the scheme not only delivered new affordable homes to meet the needs of people in the area but it would also create a new village hall and allotments, which would benefit the whole community.
