Lord Mayor officially launches landmark new homes development at Exeter Science Park

News Desk
Authored by News Desk
Posted Wednesday, October 11, 2017 - 9:13am

The Lord Mayor of Exeter, Councillor Lesley Robson, has officially launched a landmark scheme for more than 200 new homes on the outskirts of the city.

The new Minerva development, which will feature a 15-acre country park, will be constructed close to Exeter Science Park, where more than 60 people attended the launch party.

Barratt Homes will create 159 homes with David Wilson Homes delivering 63 homes to meet the rising demand for new homes in Devon. The scheme will support more than 650 jobs.

The Lord Mayor said: “This is a significant development which will not only provide badly needed new homes but it will have an important impact on the local economy. I very much look forward to seeing progress over the coming months.”

Minerva has been named after the Roman Goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom and commerce, and the location of the launch event links with the development’s close proximity to the Science Park.

Speaking at the launch, David Birkbeck, CEO, Design for Homes, presented Barratt with the prestigious ‘Built for Life’ accreditation. BfL is designed to give homebuyers confidence that important design elements during the planning process have been checked. Developments are judged on a rigorous 12-point system, all of which must be satisfied to achieve the award.

Recognising excellence in design quality, safety and community, the scheme is a government-endorsed industry standard for well-designed homes and neighbourhoods. Mr Birbeck said:

"Building for Life measures the fundamentals behind a scheme and how it is likely to perform over 5 to 20 years, essentially its chances of becoming a sought after neighbourhood with higher resales values. Minerva addresses all 12 of our tests perfectly which is very rare so it being honoured with the “exceptional” rating is equally rare. It means it can’t be bettered as a prospect for where to buy a new home."

Juliet Bidgood, Panel Chair for Creating Excellence Housing Excellence Design Panel, outlined the importance of collaboration between developers, local authorities and landowners.  She said: “This award demonstrates the value of testing approaches early on through a design review conversation. It shows how investing in design and being open to building on good practice nationally can contribute to the creation of places we can be proud of and enjoy.”

Accepting the accolade, Paul Moran managing director of Barratt in Exeter said: “I am delighted to accept this important award on behalf of our design team. Our mission is to create communities where people chose to live and our ambition is to make Minerva an outstanding example of what can be achieved by all parties working together.”

“It’s important to us that this new development has housing for a wide range of buyers so the homes will feature different layouts to suit the different lifestyles of sole occupants, couples and families and we are looking forward to building both Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes at this development.”

Barratt Homes will offer a range of two, three and four-bedroom homes and David Wilson Homes is building three, four and five-bedroom homes. As part of the development plans there will be a 15-acre country park for everyone to enjoy and the location is just five miles from the city centre with easy access to local amenities, rail and road links.

Paul Moran added: “Demand for the new homes in Exeter continues to rise and there has been tremendous interest in these new homes since we first announced plans for Minerva. We are looking forward to launching the first homes and can’t wait to show potential buyers the style and quality of homes we have planned for Exeter.”

To register your interest in the new developments, call 0844 5710 385 or visit barratthomes.co.uk or www.dwh.co.uk

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