05/12/19

• Partners Wates Residential and Cardiff Council awarded ‘Best Starter Home Scheme' at the WhatHouse? national housing awards
• Judges said Llanrumney site is a ‘shining example' of what partnerships can achieve
• Winners received their awards from astronaut Major Tim Peake and comedian Dara Ó Briain

A new development built through Cardiff Council's flagship house-building programme has been crowned ‘Best Starter Home Scheme' at the national WhatHouse? Awards.

The Captain's View and Captain's Walk site in Llanrumney won the Gold Award at the ceremony on November 15^th.

The site, which delivered 106 new homes including 40 new council properties for rent , were the first to reach completion stage under the ‘Cardiff Living' programme, a 10-year partnership between Cardiff Council and Wates Residential to increase the number of affordable homes for local people in the city.

It won the award due to its quality, value-for-money properties for entry-level budgets, as well as the variety of options and initiatives offered to help first time buyers onto the first rung of the housing ladder. At Captain's View, around 90% of buyers were from a four-mile radius of Cardiff. 70% were first-time buyers, while 63% were bought using the Government's Help to Buy scheme.

Judges said that development ‘raise[s] the game' for starter homes with ‘contemporary architecture, generous proportions and family sized gardens'. They also noted the new homes were priced ‘comfortably below the average in the Welsh capital' opening up the possibility of two or three bedroom properties for first time buyers.

The judges continued: "Captain's View and Captain's Walk... give first-time buyers much more than a first rung on the housing ladder; it offers local people the opportunity to settle within their community, and many may never feel the need to move again. Cardiff Living is a shining example of what can be achieved through partnerships; by working closely together, Cardiff Council and Wates Residential have preserved a tight-knit community for generations to come."

The winners received their awards from astronaut Major Tim Peake and comedian Dara Ó Briain.

Ed Rees, Regional Business Director of Wates Residential, said: "I'm absolutely thrilled that one of our Cardiff Living sites won ‘Best Starter Home Scheme' at the WhatHouse? Awards.

"At Wates Residential, we believe that everyone deserves a great place to live. This is about much more than building new homes, so it's rewarding to see the judges also recognise our contribution to the local community in Cardiff. I hope that this can stand up as a great example of how a public-private partnership can deliver a different approach to residential development.

"We look forward to continuing our work with the Cardiff Council in the coming years to deliver even more high quality homes for local people."

A council spokesperson said: "Our Cardiff Living developments are revitalising parts of the city by delivering good quality homes and creating sustainable communities.

"One of the requirements of the Cardiff Living programme is to ensure that new homes for sale are affordable and accessible for local people. Not only is the scheme increasing the amount of much-needed social housing available in the city, it is also enabling local first-time buyers to take their first step on the property ladder so we're delighted that the scheme has been recognised with such a prestigious award."