Affordable Homes in Lewes

Back in August, we were excited to announce our involvement with the new Atelier Development project in Lewes – a project comprising creative business units and residential apartments in the centre of the town. The joint venture between local developers, Gold Property Developments, and Cross Stone Regeneration was put in place by the team here at Oakley.

Now, 5 months later, we are proud to announce that we have secured the sale of all 41 apartments to Man Global Private Markets’ new Community Housing Fund, one of the largest property deals to have taken place in Lewes.

Within reach for local first-time buyers and key-workers

Whilst originally given planning permission as private market housing, 39 of the 41 homes will now be shared ownership, giving households with smaller deposits and lower incomes the opportunity to get on the property ladder as owner-occupiers.

As Chris Oakley, our CEO, commented in the media: “This is an area where median house prices are 10x the median income, excluding many local people from home ownership, so the fact that these fantastic apartments are being made available on a shared ownership basis is a great win for the community. 95% of the homes are now affordable housing, being delivered independent of any form of government grant.”

Tom Shaw, Investment Director, Community Housing at Man GPM described it as “changing the rules around what is possible in delivering high quality affordable housing” and Ross Barbour of the developers Cross Stone said it “fits with their vision to develop a project that directly benefits the existing community in Lewes.”

Shared ownership apartments

Our involvement with the project doesn’t end there. We are now appointed by Man GPM to market the shared ownership apartments, and it is hoped that a show home will be launched in the summer of this year. David Beaken of our Lewes office believes the central location of Atelier is key, and the setting and specification of the apartments should mean they are snapped up quickly by the local community.

The development is scheduled to be completed at the end of this year. To register your interest, please contact our Oakley Property Team in Lewes on 01273 487444.