CONSTRUCTION work is officially underway at the 260-home Strawberry Grange development in Bridgwater.

Housebuilder Countryside welcomed partners from LiveWest and Sigma Capital Group to the former Bower Farm site on the eastern edge of the town.

The developer will deliver 260 homes at the site, 78 of which (30 per cent) will be affordable. 

The first two, three and four-bedroom homes are set to be complete by summer 2023.

Countryside submitted its plans to Sedgemoor District Council in January, which were approved in July.

Now, Countryside is working with LiveWest, the largest housing association in the south west, to provide 78 affordable homes for rent and shared ownership.

The developer has also partnered with Sigma to deliver 100 build-to-rent units at the development under their private rental brand, Simple Life.

It is the first time Countryside has worked with LiveWest on a major house building project and its first partnership with Sigma in the south west.

Darren Dancey, Countryside's managing director the south west, said: “I was delighted to celebrate this exciting milestone at our Strawberry Grange development alongside both LiveWest and Sigma.

“This marks another positive step forward for the scheme and I am pleased to be working with our partners to deliver a much-needed mix of housing for the area.

“I look forward to developing these partnerships further as we continue to expand our footprint in the south west.”

Sharron Taylor, new business manager for LiveWest, said: “We are delighted to have partnered with Countryside to deliver quality, much-needed affordable homes that meet local need.

“We look forward to working together on this scheme and developing our relationship as we look to reach even more communities in the south west.

“The mixture of affordable rent and shared ownership will ensure these homes are genuinely affordable at a time where the disparity between average earnings and average house prices is growing.”

Kate Tuckey, development director for Sigma, said: “It was fantastic to be on site to mark this key step forward for Strawberry Grange.

“We are pleased to be part of Countryside’s first triple-mixed tenure site in the region and are excited to see the development progress over the coming months.

“All our Simple Life homes are pet friendly and come with plenty of space, gardens and fitted appliances and we look forward to serving communities across the south west as we work together to bring professionally managed, high-quality rental homes to a region facing growing demand.”

Countryside will fund and deliver a new roundabout providing access to the site and a link to connect a future development planned in the Dunwear Lane area.