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04
Aug 2024
New Homes Boroughbridge - we talk to people who've moved in
This week the Stray Ferret has been on the road finding out who lives in the new housing estates in your area. In this article we spoke to those living in Boroughbridge.
The Stray Ferret has extensively reported on new housing schemes in the district, including major developments in Ripon and Harrogate.
We have investigated what the Labour government’s housing target plan means for the district and covered protests against new builds in the area.
There are new build estates built or planned in almost every area in the district and they are often a point of contention. There are concerns about extra traffic, infrastructure and the pressure on health services and school places.
The Stray Ferret has been to talk to the people who've bought new homes in our area.
On a sunny day earlier in the week we spent the morning chatting to residents in the Milby Grange estate in Boroughbridge about why they chose to move in and what they think of the area.
The estate was built in 2019 by Miller Homes and contains 3-5 bedroomed houses, the homes are completed but the finishing touches are still being built, including road surfaces and fencing.
The estate joins Langthorpe and faces another housing development, Hockley Croft by Herron Homes.
Milby Grange homes
Who lives in the new houses?
The residents are a mixture of first-time buyers, retirees and everyone in between. Most of the people who came out to greet us own a dog.
Everyone the Stray Ferret spoke to said they had easily registered with vets and doctors and had nothing but praise for the Church Lane surgery. They did, however, say they had some difficulty in accessing dental care.
Many said the area was affordable and the majority of people had already lived locally or originated from the district.
Valerie Smith-Jackman and her dog, Rosie
Retiree Valerie Smith-Jackman, 77, lives with her husband and their dog, Rosie, in the corner of the estate. They moved in April 2023 and their home was one of the last to be completed.
She said:
We love it here. We moved from West Sussex, I am originally from Yorkshire and my Husband is from West Sussex, and it is just us and our dog here.
The best thing about Boroughbridge is all the artisan shops in the centre, it is brilliant that it is not filled with conglomerates.
We also like shopping in Ripon at M&S and often go to Easingwold, I’m also a golfer and go to Pannal for that.
We are retired and are finding it wonderful here, people are lovely, and it is a nice place to live, it has all worked out perfectly.
Gary Hodgson, 33, lives further along the row.
He moved to the area because he has family nearby and can easily travel to work in Headingly. He lives with his wife, young daughter, and their dog, it is their second home.
They moved in in 2020 “pandemic year, when everything was cheaper.”
He added:
We moved here because we have family nearby and we hadn’t considered this area before. It is far enough out of busy places to be chill but close enough to Harrogate and Leeds, I work in Headingly.
Before moving here we lived in Apperly Bridge in a house built by the same builders so we knew that they were good and decided to take the plunge, it was just the right time.
The best thing about the area is the local amenities like all the little shops and Morrisons. If we go out we usually go to Thirsk, Harrogate or Knaresborough.
He told the Stray Ferret that he has felt a certain animosity from people who have lived in Boroughbridge for years but was reluctant to say more about his experience.
He said:
The worst thing is that sometimes there has been a negative feeling towards people who move into new builds and I understand that.
Sonja Delai, 60 , was one of the first residents to move into the estate four years ago. She lives with her nineteen-year-old son and works in the town.
She said:
I am originally from Germany, but we moved here from Dishforth and we were the first row to move in. It is a very nice area but is very expensive.
I work at Morrisons, and my son went to Boroughbridge High School. It is good to walk into town and there are good charity shops.
She added that she has found the local amenities excellent but is registered with a dental practice in Catterick because she cannot find a place in the local area.
Boroughbridge is almost thirty miles away from Catterick, showing the strain on some local services.
Oliver Gibson
Oliver Gibson, 33, lives with his wife and two-year-old daughter. They moved into their second house two years ago, before their daughter was born.
Mr Gibson grew up in the area and moved away for University in Liverpool and then took on a graduate job in Coventry before returning to be near his family.
He said:
I grew up in the area and have family near Masham so I moved to be close to them. I work in Leeds so it is brilliant for the motorway and my wife is a teacher in Harrogate.
We go to York for shopping and places like Brimham Rocks for walks.
The best thing is the nice village feel, but there are not a lot of gyms and things I used to live in Coventry where I could walk to everything.
The worst thing is that it is frustrating how long the roads are taking to finish.
He added that generally the infrastructure had been good but expects there to be “an influx into schools in the next few years.”
The unfinished roads at Milby Grange, Boroughbridge
Angela Marshall, 60, is an ex-teacher and moved to Boroughbridge from Wetherby. She spoke to the Stray Ferret while feeding her neighbour’s cat.
She said:
I love living here because of all the new walks and we are right on the edge of the countryside. The planners here planted trees and open spaces and created nice wide streets, so you don’t have that hemmed in new-build feel.
There is a real community feel, a mix of families and retirees, you have council houses next to half a million-pound houses.
It is nice to walk into town and I can be there in ten minutes. I love the market town feeling, I grew up in Wetherby and it had become so overdeveloped I chose to move, I don’t see that here.
The best thing is that it is a cheaper area, I have been able to go mortgage free and retire ten years early, it has improved my quality of life moving here.
The worst thing about being here is that a lot of NIMBY’s who hate new builds, which I think is unjustified, it often feels personal, and they don’t consider what new people bring to the area.
Dave Harris, 63, moved into the estate in 2022 with his wife. He is retired and previously lived in Haxby.
He said:
It is quieter than York and we like it, it is a mix of town and countryside. We often visit York, Harrogate and Knaresborough.
Ian Severs
Ian Severs is 65 and owns his own business. He has spent the last 47 years living in Yorkshire.
He has children who live on Boroughbridge Road and he lives with his wife and their dog on the estate. They moved from Knaresborough eighteen months ago.
He said:
We moved from Waterside, Castle Mills, it is flatter here, every journey in Knaresborough was uphill.
Me and my wife are both from the North East so we are a little bit nearer there. This is a nice little town, it is friendly and has enough facilities and a really good GP surgery.
Boroughbridge is also really affordable, and all of the new developments are really nice. It is very quiet, and all the new estates have been done with thought.
He added his only complaints about the area would be that public transport could be better.
Emily Harland, 33, lives with her boyfriend and is a first-time buyer. The couple moved approximately a year ago.
She said:
We lived down Horsefair and this is our first house, our best friends also bought a house just down the road. It is near work for me, Riverside Court Care Home, so I can walk in. we like our neighbours and it nice that everyone knows everyone.
I’m originally from Green Hammerton and my boyfriend is from Boroughbridge. We usually go shopping in Ripon and head to Leeds for days out.
She added the only downside to the area is that her row faces out onto fields and doesn’t have much light at night and as a result there has been some vandalism nearby.
What did we find out?
The Stray Ferret’s trip to Boroughbridge wasn’t a scientific survey but we gathered a sense of how people feel about new builds and how those living there are finding the area.
Overall people love living at Milby Grange enjoy living in their houses. They also hold a fondness for both the estate and wider town.
There is often a feeling that people moving into new homes have no connection to the area, but we found this to be far from the truth. Many people had roots in the town and within the district.
New estates are generally added onto the side of towns or villages and while this is the case in Boroughbridge the people who live there have formed their own community.
They also want to be more involved with the town and connected to it rather than detached from it.
We know there are certain strains on local services and some feelings of hostility towards those who move into the new homes.
Our next stop will be Pannal to find out if the people living at Jubilee Park have had similar experiences.
Do you live in a new build house? If so, we’d love to learn about your experience. Comment below to get involved with the conversation.
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