Minister for Housing, Mark Prisk MP, has unveiled a plaque at The Maltings a Grade ll listed building which has been transformed into 35 beautiful new homes for Havebury Housing Partnership tenants.
The Maltings, in Mildenhall Road, had been empty for more than 15 years before being given a new lease of life.
Following renovation, The Maltings now offers one and two-bedroom flats with 23 being rented to tenants and 12 sold as part of the affordable housing provider’s shared ownership scheme.
Karen Mayhew, Chief Executive of Havebury Housing Partnership, said: “Delivering new, high-quality affordable housing is one of our top priorities at Havebury. The Maltings, which will be officially opened on September 17, is just one of a number of new developments we have coming to fruition this year providing much needed affordable homes in the area. We are particularly delighted that the Minister for Housing can join us on this special occasion as it has been 25 years since a Housing Minister visited St Edmundsbury.”
The mid-19th century maltings had been empty since 1995 when it was last used as a furniture shop. Havebury has worked with St Edmundsbury Borough Council and English Heritage to ensure the development plans were sensitive to its history and surroundings. The development attracted grant funding from the Homes and Communities agency of £985,000.
Havebury also worked with Suffolk Fire & Rescue to include a sprinkler system at The Maltings. Karen Mayhew said: “Havebury is committed to providing homes that are safe for our tenants and as part of this commitment we have chosen to install domestic fire sprinkler systems in a number of our developments over recent years including at The Maltings.”
Havebury, which has offices in Haverhill and Bury St Edmunds, is a charity and not-for-profit association and currently manages 6,000 homes.