ALMOST 50 affordable homes for first-time buyers have been developed in Dorset as part of three housing schemes.

The homes are part of developments in east and south Dorset, providing 19 homes for first-time buyers and key workers in Verwood, nine affordable homes in Portland as part of a Community Land Trust (CLT) project, and 18 social rent flats in Weymouth.

Dorset Council helped develop the schemes with several partnerships to support home ownership and affordable homes for local people.

In Verwood, the council worked alongside Pennyfarthing Homes, the first housebuilder to provide First Homes in the council area.

The homes are sold at 30% of their full market value, with the discount being passed on to future buyers when the property is sold on again.

In Portland, Dorset Council provided a Community Housing grant for the first Community Land Trust scheme in the area.

Middlemarch Community-led Housing supported Portland CLT, with East Borough Housing Trust (part of the Aster Group) managing the development, built by Koori Limited, who also provided the land.

For the Weymouth scheme, Dorset Council worked with the housing association, Sovereign Network Group, (SNG) and the developer Acheson, to provide social rent homes on a redeveloped brownfield site in the town.

Councillor Gill Taylor, cabinet member for health and housing, said: “These schemes represent what can be achieved and what we would like to replicate on a larger scale so more local residents can access affordable housing.

“All of these developments bring something unique to these areas, providing homes and security for people who live and work in these communities.”

Potters Wood, in Verwood, will be occupied from January next year. The council said with public spaces and areas to walk and cycle, both the exterior and interior have been carefully considered, as the new homes will feature contemporary interiors designed around modern family lifestyles.

Local first-time buyers and key workers with a household income of no more than £80,000.

The Community Land Trust development has been built on Portland’s former Southwell Primary School site, off Sweet Hill Lane. It has been built with Portland Stone quarried on the island by a local workforce.

With energy-efficient design and technologies, customers living in these homes will also benefit from lower energy bills.

Preference for these homes will be given to people with a local connection.

And in Weymouth, residents have already moved into one of the 18 two-bedroomed flats, which can provide a home for up to four people.