Twenty-seven affordable homes in Cheltenham welcome their new occupants.

Following eighteen months and a pandemic the twenty-seven fabulous new affordable homes at Radford Court, Cheltenham are ready for their new occupants to enjoy.

Where there were once three properties, twenty-seven homes have risen in their place providing much-needed quality, homes for both social rent and shared ownership.

The flagship building has been built to a high specification by local contractor partner E G Carter as part of the £180m housing investment in quality homes and thriving communities made by Cheltenham Borough Council and delivered by Cheltenham Borough Homes (CBH).

When looking for an innovative name to mark the exciting new development based at Princess Elizabeth Way, the council and CBH didn’t have to look far to find a local connection that embraced the town’s heritage.

As a nod to the town’s flourishing cyber technology ecosystem, the properties are named Radford Court after June Radford. June Sarita Radford (nee Lodge) joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) in 1943, at the age of 19. After basic training, she and a Cheltenham school friend, Bridget Anne Snowdon, volunteered for special duties working for Bletchley Park at its top-secret Eastcote Bombe Outstation. A commemorative plaque to reflect this will be added to the beautiful strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) at the entrance to the main building.

Steve Slater, Chief Executive, Cheltenham Borough Homes, said “I am incredibly proud of everyone who has played a part in delivering this amazing new development. At CBH we provide more than just homes and pride ourselves on our customer service and customer satisfaction levels across all tenure types. At our heart is a tradition of putting people first and making a positive difference to their lives, by providing safe and secure homes, supporting strong and vibrant communities, and inspiring people to go beyond what is expected and deliver what can be imagined. I am confident these high-quality homes will help strengthen the vibrant local community and provide great spaces for those who live in them.”

Councillor Peter Jeffries, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member Finance & Assets (former Cabinet Member for housing) , Cheltenham Borough Council said: ”I would like to say a big thank you to all involved from a design and build stage to ensure these homes were completed as quickly as possible even with the pandemic. Also, thanks go to the dedicated team at CBH in ensuring these much needed properties were ready for their new tenants and owners.

Councillor Mike Collins, Cabinet Member for housing, Cheltenham Borough Council said:” These twenty-seven properties are another way the council is delivering our housing strategy to meet future housing need for the town. It is great these high quality homes were developed with local, Gloucestershire, contractor partner E G Carter helping to boost the local economy and support the local supply chain.”

Mark Harries, Associate Director, E G Carter & Co Ltd said: It has been a pleasure for E G Carter to have been involved in this project. A local scheme that provides great quality homes in an area of Cheltenham that has been transformed with the addition of this modern looking building. The project has been extremely successful, which has fundamentally been down to the collective teamwork approach which has run through the project from inception to handover, however this is only the start of the story for this building. It will be great to see many people making these flats and houses into family homes.

The properties at Radford Court have been designed to act as a gateway building and is intended to help set the precedent for future improvements in the area.

The twenty-seven homes at Radford Court follow in quick succession from three properties completed at Cordwainers Road and eight two-bedroom homes at Ingleborough Mews, both of which saw new tenants move in at the beginning of 2021.