17th August 2022
Sanctuary
Forty-eight new affordable homes in Chesterfield are in ship shape following a visit from local district and parish councillors to see the development.
Ward members from Chesterfield Borough Council and Unstone Parish Council dropped anchor to see the new Sanctuary homes, which consist of 42 affordable rent properties and six for shared ownership.
The visit began with the unveiling of a piece of stone artwork by Sheffield stonemason Steve Roche at the entrance to the development, inscribed with a bespoke poem by local author Helen Mort, before moving on to a tour of the £6.73m site.
The Boat Yard development, part funded by Homes England grant funding, was previously a 3.2-acre brownfield site located at the southern edge of Unstone in Chesterfield. It was formerly a boat sales yard and has historically housed a brick kiln.
The poem reflects the dual history of the site, while the sculpture itself has an intentionally ambiguous design that resembles both the ocean waves boats built at the yard would go on to face and the kind of chimney pot assembled at the former brick kiln.
After seeing the homes, guests were then taken to see the nearby Whittington Lane playground. The playground has received a £12,000 makeover, thanks to funding from Sanctuary’s More! programme, which aims to support local need and deliver community investment in the places where Sanctuary is building new homes.
David Soothill, Director of Development – England, said: “It is very gratifying to be able to show our partners the completed homes at the Boatyard development.
“We have enjoyed close partnership working with the parish and borough councils throughout both projects and these new high-quality homes are a welcome addition to the local community.”
Councillor Jean Innes, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for business transformation and customers, and ward member for Old Whittington, said: “We’re really pleased to see that this housing development is complete and ready to welcome local families to the community.
“Ensuring that there are attractive places for people to live is at the very heart of the council’s housing strategy and we’re committed to ensuring that we can provide affordable and modern homes for families in the borough. These new properties really do help us to achieve that, whilst also complementing the new and existing properties provided by the council.”
