Vote for favourite Church Stretton development design (From Ludlow Advertiser)

Vote for favourite Church Stretton development design

8:00am Friday 1st March 2013 in News

COMPETING designs for a major new housing development in Church Stretton are to be put to a public vote.

Plans from two sets of architects for an affordable housing scheme of around 38 homes in the town will be presented to residents at an open meeting Friday, March 1.

Those at the meeting will be asked to vote for their favourite design and the results will be used to inform a final decision on the architect to be appointed by the project's steering committee, which is made up of stakeholders from across Church Stretton and the developer and social landlord, South Shropshire Housing Association.

More than £1.3m of government funding was secured in the second half of 2012 to create up to 68 affordable new homes at five sites in South Shropshire and North Herefordshire.

The very public and open process of making decisions about the scheme is at the heart of a fresh approach to community-led housing development, based on community land trusts.

These involve collaboration between the parish and town councils where the homes are to be built, Shropshire Housing Group, the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership and Shropshire Council and Herefordshire Council respectively.

Having formed a steering committee at earlier meetings, the Church Stretton scheme, to be built on land adjacent to the town's Ley Gardens, is making progress, with the choice of design for the area being the latest stage.

The open meeting is being held at the Silvester Horne Institute between 5.30pm and 7.30pm.