It’s a dream come true for Gary and Helen Middleton and their daughter Seren moving into their new bungalow in Stakeford.
They are among the first tenants in our new 32 home Bamburgh Way estate – featuring high quality affordable homes for social rent to tackle local need.
Bernicia Area Housing Officer Donna Audsley handed the family the keys to their new home which will transform their lives.
Their current hillside home in Stakeford with multiple flights of stairs had become increasingly difficult for Gary to navigate after surgery on both ankles and arthritis had impaired his walking.
The family’s new bungalow with level access is ideal for Gary with a large back garden for the family to enjoy.
“Helen told me she’d put our name down for one of the new bungalows and we honestly didn’t think any more about it,” said Gary, 67, a retired JCB driver.
“We were in Ikea buying a table for our current house when we got a phone call from Donna. We went for some breakfast after she told us and Helen started crying, we couldn’t believe it.”
Helen, 50, who is a carer for their daughter, said: “We didn’t think for two minutes that we’d get it and then we got the phone call from Donna a few weeks later to say that we could have the bungalow if we wanted it – it was utter disbelief.
“We were in shock for the rest of the day, we really couldn’t believe it. It’s life changing for us.
“It’s on the flat, we can park right up to the house which we can’t at the minute and not having the stairs really is life changing.”
Gary added: “We’ve been very lucky to get this and are very appreciative. Our family live locally and it’s really important for us to be able to have them so near.”
Donna said: “I love being able to tell people they’ve got a new home, it’s the best part of the job.
“Helen cried when I told her, it does tend to put people into shock, but in a good way!”
The new Stakeford houses and bungalows have all been allocated for social rent – meaning they are significantly lower than the average of local area private sector rents.
The £7m Stakeford scheme benefits from £2.4m worth of Homes England grant.
Bernicia has delivered a total of 75 new homes for social rent, rent to buy and shared ownership in Stakeford, Choppington and Guidepost helping local people move into an affordable, quality new property.
Over the next five years, we aim to build 1,000 new homes across the North East and invest £400m into homes and communities.
Gary and Helen (centre) are pictured with Donna outside their new home.
