Mary is overjoyed to be in her new home in Congresbury after living in a flat unsuitable for her needs.
After living in Weston-Super-Mare for over 35 years, she needed to move for health reasons and is pleased that this new home enables better mobility both inside and out for her disability.
With two out of the four homes being adapted, Mary who lives with a friend and someone she also cares for, is relieved to have moved somewhere more tailored to her. The home has a wet room and plenty of storage for a mobility scooter including a shed.
Mary said: “We were living on a first-floor flat and there was no way of getting out of there without taking the stairs and neither myself nor Steve manage them.
“There is space outside in the back garden because my daughter brings my two-and-half-year-old granddaughter around and I’ve got enough space to put up a swing for her. Instead of being stuck in a tiny first floor-flat she can play outside too.
“I can’t even begin to explain the freedom it’s given me. The impact it’s had on both our lives has been unexplainable and we can’t believe how they have changed so dramatically because of this home.”
It’s New Homes Week, starting today February 26th until March 3rd, which is a campaign by Home Builders Federation to celebrate new build homes. Getting a new build home gives people many benefits including high energy efficiency, value for money and complete customisation.
LiveWest partnered with Freemantle and Tallagh to build a total of 25 energy-efficient new build homes in Congresbury which benefited from grant funding from LiveWest’s strategic partnership with Homes England. There is a mix of 19 shared ownership homes and six social-rented homes.
Mary previously lived on top of a hill, so both residents were feeling quite isolated and needed to move to a home which better accommodated them.
The 52-year-old added: “I just didn’t leave the house or anything which was affecting our mental health because we were just stuck indoors. Because I can get out now, even if it’s just in the garden, it helps me.
“There is a shop around the corner which I can manage to walk to and from whereas before we were shopping online because we couldn’t get to the supermarkets.
“There is a lovely river just around the corner where I can take my dog but also a bus stop just around the corner that takes you into Weston-Super-Mare so I couldn’t ask for more.
“Steve likes to go on bus trips and the bus into Portishead is nearby too. I’ve never lived here before but the amenities and the public transport links are amazing.”
With this development, four of the homes are self-contained flats with two being adapted to make it more accessible for residents.
The energy-efficient homes benefit from solar panels, high-quality insulation, and solar PV to ensure they are sustainable, it lowers the development’s carbon footprint and helps reduce residents’ energy bills.
Mary said: “LiveWest has been brilliant. It’s been great, everything is amazing. I have to pinch myself sometimes I just can’t believe that we live here. There have been so many things that have made life so much better.
“It’s just lovely round here it really is. We can never hear each other or anything like that so the insulation and everything with the thickness of the walls you just can't hear anything. It’s nice and warm as well.
“The scheme is surrounded by wildlife, and we have all these different trees like big fir trees and ash trees. Because of where it is, in a forest area we get lots of squirrels too.”