Posted on 16 October 2024
The Lord Mayor of Canterbury officially broke the ground to celebrate the start of the construction of our new housing development in Seasalter, Whitstable - where we’re building 220 homes.
All of the homes will be affordable – 120 homes will be for shared ownership, and 100 will be for social rent, in a mix of 1 and 2 bedroom flats, and 2,3 and 4 bedroom houses.
Alongside these much-needed homes, the project will include a new spine road taking traffic away from the narrow Church Lane, as well as parking, allotment plots, a four hectare biodiversity area and green open spaces including equipped play areas.
In her speech, the Lord Mayor spoke passionately about the importance of affordable housing and the benefits it brings to society. She said: “This development will tick all the boxes. I’m delighted to see the start of a scheme that will deliver so many desperately-needed affordable homes and homes for social rent in the district. I know it’s going to be a shining example of what can be achieved through everyone pulling together.
“Having a safe, warm and comfortable home is so important and that is still a challenge for so many. I can't wait for people to move in and work together to build a community that everyone can be proud of.”
Steven Morrice, Hyde’s Development and Sales Director, said:
“We’re delighted that we have started on site for this exciting development. We’ll be delivering much needed affordable housing in a great location, which includes a large amount of public open space, including a nature reserve.
“I’m pleased that 100% of these high-quality homes here are going to be affordable. We have also strived to ensure that the homes will be energy efficient, and we’ll be delivering groundbreaking, innovative solutions to combat energy costs.”
The homes will be built by our delivery partner, Jenner Contractors Ltd and the shared ownership homes will be acquired by our strategic funding partner, M&G.
The event was also attended by the Lady Mayoress of Canterbury, Cllr Naomi Smith and Cllr Charlotte Cornell. Hyde colleagues and members from Jenner and M&G also attended.
The show home will be available to prospective residents in Autumn 2025, with the first homes to follow shortly afterwards. The development should be completed by Spring 2028.