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3rd July 2007
ROYAL WELCOME FOR MUCH NEEDED AFFORDABLE HOMES
Residents at Two Castles Housing Association’s new development in Burgh-by-Sands mixed with royalty today as HRH The Duke of Kent officially opened the development - part of the village’s commemoration of the 700th anniversary of the death of King Edward 1.

The prestigious new housing development has created much needed affordable homes in the area and has contributed significantly to the local community.

Jessica Sanderson (29), a nursing assistant at Cumberland Infirmary, and her partner, Sean Cornfield (26), faced having to leave the area where Jessica has lived all her life had it not been for Two Castles’ new development.

Jessica and Sean live with daughters Imani (7) and Ellie (6) and son Ethan (2) and did not want to move the family away from the area and away from Jessica’s mother who has lived there for 38 years herself.

Jessica, who invited His Royal Highness inside her home to give him the grand tour, said: “It’s been wonderful for the village to have HRH The Duke of Kent come to visit us and I feel even luckier to have shown him around our new Two Castles’ home.

“I was born and bred here and didn’t want to leave the area but after the birth of my third child we needed a bigger home and found the extortionate house prices off-putting.

“Two Castles has given us the opportunity to stay here, to keep Imani and Ellie in the same school, and to have a wonderful home that is twice the size of our old one so that we have room for Ethan’s toys and a garden them all to play in. We are very grateful – it’s made such a difference to our lives.”

His Royal Highness planted a tree to mark the opening of the development, next to which a plaque has been placed to commemorate the occasion. He also viewed the new home of Jessica and her family and presented her with a bouquet of flowers, as well as meeting other residents and representatives of Two Castles and its partners.

Two Castles’ Chief Executive, Stephanie Murphy, said: “We’ve had an amazing day and are thrilled that His Royal Highness paid us a visit as part of his tour to the village. We named our new development King Edward’s Fauld, after King Edward 1 who died on Burgh Marsh 700 years ago, so it was an honour to have a Royal visitor to perform our formal opening ceremony.”

Affordable housing for locals and for key workers such as nurses and teachers has become a big issue across the North, especially in rural areas. The Burgh-by-Sands development is part of a wider, ambitious development programme by Two Castles which is committed to supporting the regeneration and sustainability of villages, towns and cities across the whole of the North.

Funded by the North West Regional Housing Board’s Innovation Fund and built by local contractors - Cubby Construction - using local resources, the two and three bedroom bungalows and homes have been made available for local people for low cost shared equity purchase or rent.

They were also built using modern methods of construction – namely, a panellised system called Kingspan Tek which uses two skins of OSB (Orientated Strand Board) with insulation filling, which is very strong and energy efficient.

It is not the first time that Two Castles Housing Association has received Royal approval for its developments – last year its developments at Caldrigg Fold, Staveley, near Kendal, and Spinney House, Lake Windermere, featured in HRH The Prince of Wales’ Affordable Rural Housing Initiative as examples of best practice.

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