WORK is underway on a housing development which should enable local people to remain in the area, where rents and house prices remain out of reach for many.

The development of 16 new homes in Hutton Rudby near Stokesley is expected to be complete in Spring 2016. When finished, the two and three-bedroom homes and bungalows will be made available for affordable rent to people with a local connection to the area.

They are being built by Broadacres in partnership with Hambleton District Council and Esh Property Services. It forms part of the North Yorkshire Rural Enabler Programme, which supports the development of affordable housing so that villages remain sustainable places to live.

The homes are being built on a site at Garbutts Lane, opposite Hutton Rudby Cricket Club, at the entrance to the village. This site was chosen after widespread consultation with local people, including Hutton Rudby Parish Council.

Fiona Coleman, development manager at Broadacres, said the first site they chose for the development was unpopular with local people, so they worked with residents to identify the site at Garbutts Lane.

“Thanks to their input we were able to come up with a design for the homes that was in keeping with the village, with a traditional look, whilst still having all the modern features such as high insulation levels and large south facing windows,” she said.

Councillor Bridget Fortune, ward councillor for Hutton Rudby, was recently shown around the development.

She said: “There is a real shortage of modern affordable homes like these in the village so they can’t have come at a better time.

“Privately rented two-bedroom properties in Hutton Rudby cost anything up to £600 per month, but these will be considerably cheaper and more importantly they will only be allocated to local people.

“It has taken years of planning but we now have a very high quality development and I wouldn’t have wanted anyone other than Broadacres to be behind it.”

Amanda Madden, Hambleton and Richmondshire rural housing enabler, said: “Hutton Rudby is a good example of a rural village where house prices, either buying or renting, are very high, which makes it difficult for those who have grown up in the area to remain there.

“This is an excellent scheme and it will make a major contribution to the provision of affordable, high quality housing for local people.”

The total cost of the scheme is £2,256,825 which includes a grant of £481,040 from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).