A new survey has revealed the buyers are looking to builders to draw on the past to create warmth, light and space in new build homes, with 77% of respondents looking for new homes that incorporate period style features.[1] One first time buyer, Nick Willoughby (38), was drawn to the history and restored period features of the White Building in Basingstoke, Hampshire, and decided to purchase a one-bedroom first floor apartment off plan earlier this year using Help to Buy.
The White Building is an Art Deco former factory being redeveloped by Barratt Southern Counties, offering homebuyers the best of both worlds – a historic building with restored period features, yet with all the facilities of a brand new home.
Nick, who runs his own media production company in Basingstoke, comments: “I grew up in Basingstoke and wanted to stay in the town, and found that I was initially drawn to the history of the development. The former Eli Lilly factory has always been a real landmark in the town, and my business partner also had connections to Eli Lilly, so it seemed as if I had some really positive links with the White Building already.
“Buying my apartment off-plan was a great opportunity to have a blank canvas that I could make my own, while being surrounded by some elegant historical features. It has been fascinating watching the development take shape and being able to visit my home throughout the build.”
First time buyer Nick made use of the Government’s Help to Buy scheme which meant he could move in with only a small five per cent deposit, boosted with a Government loan of up to 20% of the property value, which is interest-free for the first five years.
Nick adds: “I felt stuck in the rental trap as it was hard to save while spending so much each month on rent. In the end, though, it was much easier than I was expected as I only had to save up a 5% deposit, which was boosted a bit more by a special offer from Barratt.”
Nick is now looking forward to moving into his own piece of local history, in the carefully converted 1939 Art Deco building, designed by notable pre-war industrial architect Arthur George Porri. The elegant apartments have high-quality modern finishes throughout, including Amtico floor, carpets, feature tiling and Silestone vanity tops. There’s underground parking and landscaped communal gardens, and the White Building is just a five-minute walk from the station, with services to Waterloo in as little as 44 minutes.
Lynnette St-Quintin, Sales and Marketing Director for Barratt Southern Counties, comments: “The White Building is an architectural gem, with high ceilings and full-height windows that flood the interior with light, so it was perfect for a residential conversion. History lovers will appreciate the sensitive restoration of the original entrance and lobby, which maintained the sweeping staircases, wood panelling and terrazzo flooring while unobtrusively integrating modern lifts.”
The historic White Building is at the centre of Barratt Southern Counties’ Chapel Gate development, which sits on the 25-acre former factory site. The renovated White Building now comprises 96 one and two-bedroom apartments, with 36 different styles to choose from, including family-sized, dual-aspect homes and top floor loft-style apartments. Prices start from £189,995 for a one-bedroom, first floor apartment with parking space.
To find out more about the new homes available at the White Building or Chapel Gate, visit www.barratthomes.co.uk or call 0333 355 8498.
ENDS
For further information about Barratt Homes please call Hollie Moore on 07366 142715 or email [email protected]
1. Barratt Homes is part of Barratt Developments PLC – a FTSE 100 Company
2. Barratt Group sold 17,579 homes in the year to June 2018, making it the biggest housebuilder by volume in Britain
3. Barratt Group was awarded a maximum five-star rating for the ninth consecutive year in the 2018 Home Builders Federation Customer Satisfaction Survey
4. Site managers working for Barratt Group won 83 awards for quality workmanship in the 2018 NHBC Pride in the Job Awards. Barratt has won more Pride in the Job awards than any other housebuilder for the last fourteen years
[1] https://www.showhouse.co.uk/news/buyers-are-demanding-period-features-in-new-build-homes/