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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Jamie Brassington & Graeme Murray

People 'loving life' on estate where they can buy their homes for just £1

People say they are loving life on an estate where they can snap-up homes for just £1.

A pocket of 266 homes are being constructed on the £34million development near the site of where a Lancaster bomber fell to the ground during the Second World War.

The Marches Development in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, is being built near where seven airmen lost their lives in 1945 when aircraft crashed, reports BirminghamLive.

The men have been commemorated with a road named after each of them on the estate.

One hundred of the homes are being sold under a help-to-buy scheme, allowing residents to purchase them for £1 after renting them for 25 years.

What do you make of the scheme? Is it good or bad? Have your say in the comment section

Residents Aaron Parsons and Tim Perry (BPM Media)

As homeowners make their monthly payments, the scheme will build up a 'loyalty premium'.

Tenants can take their premium as cash if they leave the scheme within the first 20 years.

Some residents have already moved into their three-storey homes on the estate as other parts of it are still being built, with diggers driving up and down the roads.

James Taylor, 26, moved in with his partner and daughter in November 24.

The engineering supervisor told BirminghamLive : "We like it. Obviously, during the day, it is a bit rowdy with the building going on.

"Other than that, at weekends it is quiet. It is a nice area, you don't get or hear of any trouble."

James Taylor lives on the new-build estate (BPM Media)

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Asked about the appearance of the homes, which feature eye-catching designs of red bricks and grey facades, he said: "We like it, it is one of the reasons why we went for it.

"Although it is about narrow, there is a lot of space as we have three-storeys."

Dan Brown, aged 34, who lives nearby, moved in with his wife and child at the end of November on the help-to-buy scheme.

Mr Brown, who works as a data services manager at Amazon, said: "The estate is nice, we came in quite early, we are still having the building work done.

"The neighbours are pretty friendly."

Around the corner Tim Perry, 31, moved into his property with partner Aaron Parsons, 32, on the help-to-own scheme in October.

Mr Perry said: "It is our dream home. It has been nice living here to be fair, there has been a nice community spirit going on, everyone has been coming together peacefully."

He added: "I like the appearance (of the homes), there is a decent amount of space (inside)."

A 33-year-old man, who wished to remain anonymous, said he bought a house on the help-to-buy scheme.

He said: "It's a good scheme. It's a nice building, well built, with a lot of space inside."

Another resident, a 36-year-old woman who wished to remain anonymous, said: "I love my house but it's a bit weird having the living room upstairs."

Construction giant Willmott Dixon is carrying out the building work on the properties, which are a mixture of two, three and four-bedroom houses.

A lot of the new homes appear finished however some of the buildings are still being constructed.

Scaffolding remains on some new properties, while an area of the estate remains a building site.

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