Unveiling our newest affordable family homes as Watford Social Rent Programme gets underway

We’re very pleased to unveil our first set of homes to be completed as part of the Watford Social Rent Programme! We’re working in partnership with Watford Borough Council to deliver 56 high-quality homes for social rent across Watford.

Our development programme seeks to improve access to low-cost, modern housing, providing affordable homes of varying sizes for local communities in Watford. Social rent is typically around half the cost of renting an equivalent property on the private market, and we want to offer families a home they can be proud of, at a fraction of the market rent.

The first site to be completed, Lutreola Close, is now home to three large 3-bedroom family homes, with five off-street parking spaces, private gardens and auto-mist sprinkler systems for added fire safety. The name Lutreola pays homage to a type of otter which is native to Watford and can be found in the nearby River Colne.

Elected Mayor Peter Taylor met with our Chief Executive, Tina Barnard to celebrate the completion of the site, along with representatives of Watford Borough Council and the new residents of Lutreola Close. Also in attendance was Mark Doyle, CEO of the project’s main contractor, Jarvis Construction.

Speaking at the event, Tina Barnard said:

“We’re delighted to unveil the first of our affordable family homes as part of the Watford Social Rent Programme with Watford Borough Council. These are spacious, modern houses that offer an excellent standard of living at a sub-market rate. Watford Community Housing is wholly committed to working in partnership with the council to deliver these much-needed homes and I look forward to more of the same as the development programme progresses.”

Peter Taylor, Elected Mayor, added: “When I was elected, I made a promise to deliver more homes for social and affordable rent for local families. We’ve been working in partnership with Watford Community Housing Trust to develop this programme which is creating affordable homes for local families to live in. By supporting low-cost homes in Watford, we can make sure there are opportunities for everyone in our town.”

In addition to £180,000 in government grant funding from Homes England, we’ve also committed £130,000 to the development, with Watford Borough Council matching this figure. These are the first houses of the social rent programme which will deliver a further 53 homes, helping to provide affordable, high quality housing in the Watford area.