Corby's first dedicated armed forces houses 'a dream come true' says new resident at official launch

The 18 houses and bungalows at the end of Cheltenham Road on the Oakley Vale estate in Corby are reserved for people who have served in HM forces.

It has taken five years for the £3m scheme to come through the planning and building process, but the first residents are now in their homes.

It was paid for from the council’s capital funds and right-to-buy receipts.

A special ribbon-cutting event took place yesterday (Thursday, November 21) to welcome the new families to Cheltenham Road.

Resident Kat Baginska moved into one of the houses with her 11-month-old son and three-year-old daughter in August along with her partner who was medically discharged after breaking both his hips following five years in the army.

Kat, a council IT worker, said: “It was difficult after he left the army, he was couch surfing and sleeping at his brother’s.

"I was privately renting but it was expensive and then my son was born in December 2023. My partner does manage to work as a carpenter but he can be in pain and struggles a bit so when we got the call from Keyways for this house is was a total dream come true.

"It’s absolutely amazing. We used to live in Earls Barton so it’s been quite a change and it’s meant a new town for us but it’s lovely being so close to the shops and we’re applying for local schools for my daughter."

The development is the first of its kind in the area and has been designed to seamlessly integrate with the existing community. The development consists of eight 2-bed houses, two 3-bed houses, four 1-bed flats, two 1-bed bungalows and two 2-bed bungalows

Applications were invited for the houses from North Northamptonshire Council’s Keyways scheme and out of the 18 homes, eleven were taken up by those from the army, RAF and navy.

After two rounds of bidding, the remainder were allocated to other people on Keyways to ensure the homes don’t remain empty – but they will go through the same process when they next come up for rental to prioritise those linked to the forces.

Yesterday’s event was attended by Deputy Lieutenant of Northamptonshire Air Vice Marshal Andrew White CB and representatives of the Armed Forces Covenant Board

Attendees were invited to look around the new properties after the official opening.

Cllr Mark Rowley (Con, Ise) North Northamptonshire Council’s Executive Member for Housing and Communities, said: “Even though the properties on site have only been lived in for a couple of months you can tell there is already a real sense of community with residents settled in and benefitting from the facilities and layouts of the properties.

“We’re immensely proud of the site and it is hoped that it will make a real difference to people’s lives - whether it be veterans or those currently serving and their families.”

Jason Smithers (Con, Oundle), Leader of the Council, said: “As a council we have a strong commitment to the armed forces community, and it is great to have a development like this in North Northants. It was an honour to visit Cheltenham Road site to officially open the site, meeting the residents who now call the development home and hearing their stories.

“From the site visit, I can see that site has been well thought out and designed with members of the Armed Forces community in mind and I want to thank all of the officers and partners who have helped make the development a reality.”

In the past year 50 homes in the area have been sold under the right-to-buy scheme but NNC has managed to replace 47 of those homes through new building schemes.