43 New Affordable Homes Completed in Maidstone Partnership With Skillcrown

Forty-three new affordable homes are ready for residents in Maidstone, after the borough council took handover of two developments built in partnership with Skillcrown Homes: Wilberforce House on Tonbridge Road (19 homes) and Len Martin Court at Corbens Place (24 homes). Both schemes are a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments, built on previously underused sites.

The homes have been built with electric heat pumps for hot water and electric heating, which the council says should help residents cut both their environmental impact and their energy bills - a genuinely practical detail for anyone weighing up whether a new-build home will actually be cheaper to run day to day, not just to move into.

Cllr Simon Wales, the council's Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, said: "Safe, secure and affordable housing can change people's lives. For many local families and individuals, finding a genuinely affordable home is becoming increasingly difficult, which is why increasing the supply of affordable housing remains one of the council's key priorities... The completion of Wilberforce House and Len Martin Court means more local people will have access to high-quality homes they can afford, helping them put down roots, build stable futures and remain part of the communities they know and love." Matt Arnold, Land & Development Director at Skillcrown Homes, said the aim throughout "was not simply to construct new homes, but to deliver homes of a quality that we could all be proud of and that residents will enjoy living in for many years to come."

These 43 homes are one instalment of a bigger target: the council wants to deliver 1,000 affordable homes over ten years, working with partners like Skillcrown to bring forward suitable sites. The same partnership already has further phases lined up at Corbens Place and Granville Road, so this handover is very much a staging post rather than the end of the pipeline. Residents are expected to move into the new homes soon. Source: Maidstone Borough Council