Construction starts at new development in Leighton Buzzard

Work is set to start at a new Bellway housing development which will bring 180 new homes to Leighton Buzzard.

The housebuilder is set to deliver the collection of new homes at Chamberlains Bridge on a 13.6-acre site off Vandyke Road.

Detailed plans for the development were approved by Central Bedfordshire Council in February. The site will feature 145 private homes and 35 affordable properties available for local people through rent or shared ownership.

Luke Southgate, Sales Director of Bellway Northern Home Counties, said: “With approval for our detailed plans now in place, we are preparing to move onto the site within the coming weeks to start the construction process.

“This will enable us to provide much-needed private and affordable new housing to Leighton Buzzard. Chamberlains Bridge will provide a range of two, three, four and five-bedroom homes for market sale. This selection of properties will appeal to a mix of buyers from first-time buyers to growing families.

“The affordable housing – comprising one and two-bedroom apartments and two, three and four-bedroom houses – will enable local people to stay close to family, friends and work. This represents a very positive addition to the Leighton Buzzard housing scene.”

Chamberlains Bridge is the third phase of the wider Chamberlains Barn neighbourhood, which received outline planning consent in 2015 and is planned to bring a total of 950 new homes to the town.

The masterplan for the wider scheme also includes a site for a lower school, a local centre with shops and medical services, public open space, a country park, allotments, orchards and play areas. The plans also include a new stop for the popular Leighton Buzzard Railway – one of the country’s longest and oldest narrow-gauge lines.

The new homes at Bellway’s Chamberlains Bridge will be located immediately to the south of an area of grassland and woodland on the wider site which will be set aside as the new Shenley Hill Country Park.

Luke said: “We are proud to be able to deliver yet more new housing in Leighton Buzzard. Bellway Northern Homes Counties is already building 165 new homes at Lestone Mews, off Bellona Drive, where a vibrant new community is already taking shape.

“The building of these new homes at Chamberlains Bridge demonstrates our ongoing commitment to helping to meet the growing need for new housing in Leighton Buzzard.

“We will release details of the launch of the development and the properties available to reserve in the near future. We would advise anyone thinking about buying a new home in Leighton Buzzard to get in touch with us and register an interest online.”