A NEW and different kind of affordable housing scheme has been opened near Cleobury Mortimer.

David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation officially opened the rural housing development in Kinlet.

Designed by etc Design and constructed by Saxonby for Shropshire Rural Housing Association (SRHA) the scheme consists of eight homes including two two-bedroom detached bungalows, four two-bedroom and two three-bedroom semi-detached houses.

The housing association set out to not only provide new homes but also bring a number of benefits to the community.

It means, the village primary school's playing field, previously unusable for much of the year due to waterlogging, now has improved drainage as a result of an excellent partnership with Kinlet Parish Council.

Kinlet has no mains gas but, in a first for the county SHRA’s commitment to affordable warmth, low running costs and a long-term reduction in environmental impact was been achieved through the use of a highly insulated closed-panel timber frame system.

This design solution, together with Kensa ground source heat pumps which, utilise the natural sources of heat from the ground below the houses and boosts it to provide space heating and hot water, have provided light, spacious, warm and affordable homes to rent for local people.

In addition, lack of capacity in the village's sewage treatment plant meant that SHRA provided its own environmentally friendly biodisc system.