Genesis Housing Group held a breakfast event at Silkin's Field in Stevenage last week, to celebrate the first anniversary of customers moving in to this much-needed affordable housing scheme in a prime central location.

Speakers at the event included Baroness Andrews OBE - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), Councillor Ann Webb - Executive Member for Housing and Health in Stevenage, Robert Clark, Managing Director of Durkan and Anu Vedi CBE - Group Chief Executive of Genesis Housing Group.

The site, a former British Aerospace sports ground, provides 198 affordable homes and is the largest in the 'Challenge Fund 2' programme, a joint initiative between Genesis Housing Group, English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation.

Silkin's Field comprises a mix of 21 houses for general needs rent, 34 flats for general needs rent and 143 flats purchased through NewBuild HomeBuy' (part-buy/part-rent), available exclusively for first-time buyers in the area. The remaining 55 homes are occupied by tenants nominated by Stevenage Borough Council. The scheme attracted a huge amount of interest on the open day with prospective customers queuing to reserve a property from 5am for the 9am opening. Almost all properties were sold off-plan.

Mr Laverick, a customer who rents a house at Silkin's Field, said "My wife and I are absolutely delighted here. We've got brilliant access to the town centre and the station, and there's a large play area for the kids, which our ten-year-old son loves. It's very safe here and we always know he's nearby. It's a lovely neighbourhood."

Baroness Andrews OBE said "This fantastic development is a prime example of how mixed developments can work in practice and how these communities can thrive. These homes are helping key workers, first-time buyers and local people gain a step on to the property ladder. It is credit to the co-ordinated approach that Genesis has taken."

She continued "The government has set a target to build three million new homes by 2020. This means house-building will need to increase to 240,000 a year by 2016 (175,000 were completed in 2007). There is a lot to achieve but it is developments like Silkin's Field that are contributing significantly to this target."

Anu Vedi, Group Chief Executive at Genesis, said "We see this Silkin's Field development as an excellent example of what can be delivered in a relatively short time, to a good standard, and in successful partnerships, where commitment exists all round.

Genesis feels strongly that a range of clients should be provided for and that services should be shared in an integrated way. As a social investment business we prioritise our customers and the communities they live in.

"Our role in building homes and providing services sits alongside our purpose: to support our customers' aspirations around their housing choices and around other parts of their life such as employment and training."

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For further information about Genesis Housing Group,

Notes to editors

Genesis Housing Group provides homes and services to tens of thousands of people across London and the south east. The Group consists of PCHA, Pathmeads and Springboard housing associations. It also has a charitable foundation, Genesis Community, and is one of the largest and most successful housing groups in the UK. Genesis Housing Group owns and/or manages more than 40,000 homes across London and the south east. Its overiding aim is to put customers first and provide excellent service to all.

About Challenge Fund 2

Prior to development the site was owned by English Partnerships, who transferred it to Genesis for £1 on condition that only affordable housing was built on the site. The Housing Corporation contributed a social housing grant of £3.23 million. This arrangement has been replicated on a further 14 sites in six new towns in London and the South-East (Basildon, Crawley, Hemel Hempstead, Northampton, and Welwyn Garden City). The programme as a whole, which is for 900 homes, is around 70% complete and has been very successful.

The programme has been delivered by the Logic Homes partnership, which consists of Genesis, four constructors (Durkans, Hill Partnerships, Allenbuild, and McCann Homes), two firms of architects (Social Housing Partnership and BPTW) and Presentation HA. The three partners on this scheme are Durkans, PCHA and SHP.

About the scheme

The block, which contains 124 of the 198 homes, is divided into six staircases, with individual blocks varying from four to 10 storeys. The southern 10-storey block is intended to act as a landmark feature and to be visible from the town centre and the station, both of which are about 400 metres from the site. All of the habitable rooms in this block face into the site and away from the railway, with kitchens, bathrooms and corridor space overlooking the railway.

The remainder of the site is more domestic in scale, with 35 houses and 20 apartments, the latter being in three or four storey blocks. This section of the site, which is constructed in timber frame, is mainly rented, including all of the houses which are all of three or four bedrooms.

The estate is of a deliberately modern appearance, and uses a variety of elevational treatments to give colour and interest such as brick, cedar boarding, and render.