A new affordable housing development part-funded by the LEP has opened in Skegness.

The latest development in a scheme to provide much needed affordable rural housing opened in Skegness on Tuesday (24th October).

Saxon Fields consists of 168 new homes and a community hub facility which has been made possible thanks to the Unlocking Rural Housing Programme run by the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

Ninety out of 100 affordable homes have so far been built on the 1.12-hectare brownfield site, and the original scheme has been enlarged, meaning a further 68 homes will now be added by the summer of 2018.

Saxon Fields has been developed by the Waterloo Housing Group off Lincoln Road, west of Skegness town centre. Other partners include East Lindsey District Council, Chestnut Homes and the Homes and Communities Agency.

The Unlocking Rural Housing Programme, which is bringing affordable housing to the Borough of Boston and East Lindsey, benefited from £4.2m of funding in the first round of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP’s Growth Deal negotiated with the government.

It aims to help build 419 affordable homes on priority housing sites in and around Boston and Skegness which, owing to significant barriers and constraints, would not otherwise be brought forward in the short to medium term.

“It’s a great pleasure to see this development completed successfully,” said David Dexter, Deputy Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP.

“We funded this scheme because we recognise the importance of housing to the local economy, and the contribution which housing makes to growth.

“That’s why, in the very first Growth Deal which we negotiated with the government, we developed our £4.2m Unlocking Rural Housing Programme.

“Our programme plays an important role in enabling housing sites to be developed, and we look forward to working with our partners on similar projects in the future.”

Pictured at the opening ceremony are (left to right) Councillor Dick Edginton (East Lindsey District Council), Jill Ridlington (Chair of the Residents' Association), Anthony Riley (Director of Development and Operations Waterloo Housing Group), Neil Kempster (Land and Development Director Chestnut Homes) and David Dexter (Deputy Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP).