Bakewell’s local war hero Colonel Leslie Wright was honoured today at a housing development named after the great man, Platform’s Colonel Wright Close.
Dignitaries gathered at the site on Shutts Lane to hear local pupils from Lady Manners School tell the story of the Colonel before a stone marking the opening was unveiled. They were joined by members of Derbyshire Dales District Council and staff from Lindum Construction as well as other involved parties for the event.
Colonel Wright Close is made up of 30 homes built for Platform Housing Group in a project that took almost a decade to come to fruition. Meticulous planning ensured the homes were built to maintain the look of the area, using stone from the local Dale View quarry at Stanton Moor. The land was originally bought from Lady Manners school, who used the funds to build their 3G sports pitch which is now enjoyed by the school and wider community.
Elizabeth Froude, Group Chief Executive of Platform Housing group, said, “We are very proud to deliver the first affordable housing in the beautiful Peak National Park for 10 years, especially as it is an area of the country where house prices and affordability are particularly volatile.
This scheme not only brings new affordable homes for local people, it has benefitted the local community and local economy. We feel this development is a real achievement for all concerned.”
Also in attendance was Leader of DDDC, Councillor Garry Purdy, “This project has been 13 years in the making and in pushing for the scheme from the start we recognised an overwhelming need for these homes. All partners have worked extremely hard to secure high quality affordable homes for local people who have a link to Bakewell.
“The District Council carried out two housing need surveys in Bakewell that underlined the need for this development. We allocated £500,000 capital funding to help make these homes happen in the National Park and I would suggest that this scheme is arguably the single most important affordable housing scheme in the District Council’s housing programme in recent times.
“We had never before allocated £500,000 to an affordable housing scheme and every penny came from Right To Buy proceeds from our former council housing stock, demonstrating how Right To Buy receipts are being used to replace homes lost across the Derbyshire Dales in the National Park.
