Curo News

Youth football teams sport new strip thanks to Curo sponsorship

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 08:00:00 Z

Clutton’s youth football teams are sporting brand new kits after receiving a £3,000 sponsorship donation from housing association and housebuilder Curo.

Curo last year completed the Highbury Fields development of 36 new homes in the village, which included 21 affordable homes for social rent and shared ownership. The development has enabled many local people to put down long-term roots in the community near to family, schools and jobs.

Curo Chief Executive, Victor da Cunha, says: “We’ve always believed that truly integrated, sustainable and happy neighbourhoods need more than just new homes. That’s because it’s the people, not the homes, that make it a great place to live.

“As a developer and housing association, we remain involved in local communities well after we build our homes, by providing a wide range of activities and services to support people and neighbourhoods - from tailored individual support for those needing a little extra practical help, to skills, training, employment advice and job opportunities. We also offer funding for community-led projects, such as the wonderful youth football club in Clutton.

"The club is very active, popular and successful locally, and doing a great job in helping families and kids to connect, socialise and keep healthy. We’re proud to be associated with them and to play a part in helping them to keep doing what they’ve been doing so well for a while. We hope that this donation helps them continue to go from strength to strength.”

Curo’s donation has enabled the club to purchase new Hummel kit including shirts, shorts and socks for all players from the under-7s, under-9s and under-11s teams, as well as 25 children from Reception and Year 1, also known as the ‘Mini Swans’. In addition, the club was able to purchase other much-needed equipment, including 40 new footballs and two goals for matches.

Clutton Football Club Chairman, Stuart Price, says: “We’re thrilled to have received this generous donation and really grateful to Curo for their support. Our young players are loving their new Curo-branded equipment and it’s great to see them looking the part on the pitch.

“Football is really important in our community, bringing together not only local children, but also their parents, grandparents and siblings. Our matches make for great fun days out for the whole family and Curo’s sponsorship will help us to continue this important work.”

Curo marks Rural Housing Week with completion of 36 new homes in the village of Clutton

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 16:37:57 Z

A housing development launched in 2018 was completed by housing association and housebuilder Curo just in time to mark Rural Housing Week, an annual celebration that highlights the importance of housing for the survival of rural communities and services.

The two, three and four-bedroom homes at Highbury Fields, in the Bath & North East Somerset village of Clutton, are now all occupied. Most of the homes (22) were let at social/affordable rent or sold through the Shared Ownership scheme to local people, and Curo delivered almost twice the number of affordable homes required by the planning consent, including one home adapted for people with disabilities.

In addition, four homes were let at market rent and ten were sold on the open market, creating an integrated development with a wide range of housing tenures for the local community.

Clutton resident 30-year old Teri recently moved to Highbury Fields through the Shared Ownership scheme. She says: "Buying a house in Clutton would probably have been impossible. I've looked for years and Shared Ownership was the only way I could do it. It’s fantastic that they built these homes here."

Curo Chief Executive, Victor da Cunha, says: “We’ve always said that if we found a way to deliver more affordable homes on this site, we would. New housing, and in particular, new affordable housing in rural areas, is essential to ensuring our market towns and villages continue to thrive.”

Curo secured more than £336,000 funding from Homes England to help deliver additional affordable housing on this site.

Victor added: “In Clutton, like many other villages in our region, young people and families are constantly being priced out of the housing market. Building new homes in these areas means more people have an opportunity to remain close to their support networks.

“What’s more, housebuilding brings much-needed investment in infrastructure, leisure and education facilities, and creates jobs – helping to revitalise local economies.”

As part of the development, Curo contributed more than £360,000 towards the local school, youth services, road infrastructure, bus services and green spaces in the village.

"Shared Ownership was the only way I could do it"

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 09:34:26 Z

Image above: Shared Ownership Curo customer, Teri Densley

30-year old Teri Densley was finally able to get on the property ladder in her home village thanks to Shared Ownership homes built by Curo at Highbury Fields, in Clutton.

Teri, who works in admin for a finance company, was living with her parents in Clutton so she could save up for a deposit. Teri says: "Buying a house in Clutton would probably have been impossible. I've looked for years - Shared Ownership was the only way I could do it. It was fantastic that they started building here."

Earlier this year, Teri turned her homeownership dream into a reality and moved in to a two-bed new-build house, close to her family and friends.

Shared Ownership is an affordable way into homeownership for people who may otherwise find it difficult to get on the housing ladder. This government-backed initiative is giving many people the push they need to buy their own home. The scheme is available through housing associations like Curo for new-builds and Shared Ownership properties being re-sold. Shared Ownership is available to first-time buyers, or those who used to own a home but can no longer afford one, with a combined household income of less than £80,000pa.

Watch Teri's story to find out what Shared Ownership meant for her...

For more information about the scheme, and to see what properties are available via Shared Ownership from Curo, head over to our sales website.

Family returns to home village thanks to new Curo development

Thu, 04 Jul 2019 11:19:27 Z

A young couple and their two children are able to live closer to family and friends thanks to new homes built by Curo at its Highbury Fields development in the village of Clutton.

Beth, who is 26 years old and from Clutton, and Danny, who’s 33 years old and was born and raised just a couple of miles down the road, in Paulton, have been looking to buy their first home together in the village but were struggling to find the right property.

Danny says: “It’s very difficult for young families to move back to the village, there just aren’t enough homes coming up for sale. We’ve been looking for some time and we either couldn’t afford to buy, or couldn’t afford to renovate. Also, with a three-year-old son and a six-month-old baby, it would be hard for us to live in a house while undertaking major works.”

The family were initially looking for a three-bedroom home with a garage and a bigger garden. Beth says: “We wanted the kids to be able to play freely in the garden, so this was really important to us. We also knew that if we could push ourselves to buy a four-bed house, it could really be our forever home – and that’s what we got.”

The two-storey, four-bedroom Drayton house type at Highbury Fields features large open-plan living spaces and a contemporary, stylish kitchen. It also comes with a single garage and two designated parking spaces and has a ten-year NHBC warranty.

Danny and Beth have moved in to their new home at the end of March with son Roman and daughter Margo. Many of Beth’s extended family still live in Clutton, and Danny drives the school bus in the village as part of his work for the family transport business.

Beth says: “Our lives are very much connected to the village - my mother and younger brother still live in the old family home, just down the road from the Warwick Arms pub. My aunties and uncles and many of our school friends also live here.

“I went to the primary school in the village and it’s amazing that both our children will now be able to go there and have a similar upbringing to our own. My mother loves the fact that her grandchildren live only a couple of minutes down the road from her.

“There are so many people who’ve grown up here and would love to come back to the village and I know that we were very lucky to be able to actually do it.”

Highbury Fields is a new development of 36 homes with two, three and four bedrooms in the Somerset village of Clutton. The homes are being delivered by award-winning housing association and house-builder Curo – for more information go to our sales website contact sales@curo-group.co.uk or call 0345 140 5050.

Young family returns to home village thanks to new Curo development

Mon, 11 Feb 2019 15:19:14 Z

A young couple and their two children will soon be able to live closer to family and friends as they prepare to move in to a new home at Curo’s Highbury Fields development in Clutton.

Danny and Beth now look forward to moving to their new home at the end of March with son Roman and daughter Margo. Many of Beth’s extended family still live in Clutton, and Danny drives the school bus in the village as part of his work for the family transport business.

“I went to the primary school in the village and it’s amazing that both our children will now be able to go there and have a similar upbringing to our own. We’re all so excited about the move. My mother loves the fact that her grandchildren will live only a couple of minutes down the road from her.

“There are so many people who’ve grown up here and would love to come back to the village and I know that we were very lucky to be able to actually do it.”

Curo kick-starts construction of 36 new homes at Highbury Fields in Clutton

Wed, 24 Jan 2018 11:35:04 Z

Construction work has officially started at Curo’s newest housing development, Highbury Fields, situated in the picturesque village of Clutton. The scheme will deliver 36 new homes for local people, including 33% affordable housing for rent and shared ownership.

Highbury Fields is a development of 2, 3 and 4 bedroom properties, with the first homes due for completion in spring next year.

Curo Managing Director, Gerraint Oakley, said: “We’re delighted to be able to build much-needed new homes in Bath & North East Somerset and we’re excited to see work finally starting on site.

“With the highest private rents in the South West and average house prices amounting to nearly twelve times the median salary in B&NES, it’s paramount for house-builders like Curo to continue to build more homes, particularly affordable housing, for local people.

“This site, along with our other developments, underlines our commitment to being part of the solution in the housing crisis we’re facing locally and nationally. We don’t have shareholders; we generate profit for purpose by building and selling homes on the open market and reinvesting the income to provide more affordable housing.”

The development was named after the nearby Highbury Hill, the site of an Iron Age hillfort used for its advantageous defensive position.

Local heritage is further celebrated in the name of the new road that will border the development’s south side. The name – Greville Road - was chosen by local residents and the Parish Council for its connection to the village’s mining legacy. Greville was the surname of the Count and Countess of Warwick, who owned the Clutton Collieries and built the Maynard Terrace row of cottages, situated next to Highbury Fields, for local miners.

Meet the builders on 30th January

To give local residents the opportunity to find out more about the construction works and the new homes at Highbury Fields, Curo is hosting a drop in event at Clutton Village Hall on Tuesday 30th January from 3pm to 6pm, when visitors can meet the project team.