On the 5th of February, Witham MP Priti Patel made a visit to Lime Tree Place in Witham, a new residential development by Equinox Living and Inspired Homes providing 98 one and two-bedroom apartments. The former NHS offices located on Collingwood Road and are being converted by Phelan Construction, over a 37-week programme. A welcomed addition to the market town, the new apartments are being marketed off-plan and will provide high-specification starter homes featuring hardwood floors, Italian Arta Cucine kitchens, quartz worktops, Bosch appliances and 1GB Hyperoptic broadband.
The development will also benefit from landscaped communal gardens, which are expected to feature beach volleyball and outdoor table tennis tables. Apartments at Lime Tree Place start at £170,000 and are available for purchase with Help to Buy with the first residents moving in this summer.
Priti Patel and representatives from Equinox Living and Inspired Assets were personally guided by Phelan’s H&S Director, Scott Manton, and had this to say about the development;
Priti said:
“This is a welcome and sensible development which will bring more people in to live in Witham. Equinox, Inspired and Phelan have done a great job transforming the old NHS offices into an attractive place for people to live. I am particularly pleased to see the opportunities this will provide for people looking to take the first step on the property ladder.”
“The homes are of an extremely high quality, and innovative designs means the homes are welcoming to future residents as well as being affordable. Positive engagement with the local community has also taken place during the construction phase and this development is an example that others could follow.”
“The fact that we have investors looking to build these developments sends out a positive signal about the attractiveness of Witham as a great place to live.”
Matt Jolly, Pre-Construction Manager at Phelan Construction, said:
“For Phelan, the opportunity to apply our hotel refurbishment skills to the residential conversion of 8 Collingwood Road was not only an opportunity to prove ourselves in a new market, but also to work on this important local project that will undoubtedly benefit the wider Essex economy. Our project team, headed up by Sean Carter, Contracts Manager and Phil Stubbins, Site Manager, have been doing a fantastic job in progressing the scheme and now six months into the nine-month programme, we look forward to celebrating its completion together with the client team in April.”
Martin Skinner, Chief Executive of Inspired Homes, said:
“Witham is suffering from a shortage of starter homes, making it hard to retain young professionals. With its superb transport links, affordability and high spec, Lime Tree Place is attracting younger buyers from further afield as well as those living locally. A fifth of the apartments are now sold, almost exclusively to first-time buyers, who will add to the fabric of the local community and help support local businesses.”
Darius Ziatabari, Director and Co-founder of Equinox Living, added:
“We were delighted to welcome Priti to Lime Tree Place. We were really impressed by her [Priti Patel] knowledge of local developments and were pleased to hear that we are the only starter home scheme in Witham. She also seemed to be impressed by the specification and how affordable it is. These are private starter homes that, with Help to Buy, are in reach of those earning £30,000 a year, who have a deposit of £8,500. There is no stamp duty at these prices, and we’re also including furniture packs to make it as easy as possible for people to get a foot on the ladder.”
Call 020 8688 6552 to enquire about Lime Tree Place or for more information, visit www.limetreeplacewitham.co.uk.
