Barratt Homes helping people onto the property ladder Barratt, Manchester, is celebrating after its 200th FirstBuy sale was completed, making them the first Barratt division to reach this figure. The completion of the sale of a house on The Woodlands at Buckshaw Village, Chorley, marks the 200th sale that Barratt Manchester has dealt with using FirstBuy.
“Buckshaw Village has such a nice reputation, and The Woodlands is so secluded and private. We’ve spoken to friends who are looking to buy houses and we have told them that they should definitely look into FirstBuy.
Neil Goodwin, Managing Director of Barratt Manchester, said: “This is a massive achievement for Barratt in this Division and it is testament to the work of our sales advisers who have been able to advise home buyers and tell them the ways to get onto the property ladder that will suit them. “FirstBuy, was a great way for first time buyers to get onto the property ladder, and we are delighted that 200 people using the scheme have chosen Barratt Homes as the first home they buy.” FirstBuy, was a Government scheme to help people get on the housing ladder. With FirstBuy, people could buy their own home for as little as 80% of the value. People were eligible if they had a household income of £60,000 or less, weren’t a home owner, and couldn’t afford to buy a home. The 200th completion has now been completed, enabling a young woman to buy her first home on The Woodlands development in Buckshaw Village, Chorley.
“Barratt gave us amazing customer service, they offered us so much more than any of the other house builders we visited. We couldn’t have asked for more.”
Nigel Wilson, Chief Executive, WCHG; Luke and Sienna Hesketh; Tony Roden, Executive Director of Property, WCHG.
Gemma Pond, the 200th FirstBuy customer, said: “FirstBuy made it so much easier for us. Without it we would have had to go for something smaller that we weren’t happy with and we would have wanted to move again in a couple of years. “But using FirstBuy, everything has worked out so well. We only started looking in March but as soon as we saw this house on this development, we knew that we wanted it.” Gemma, who moved in to the house with her partner, Michael Godfrey, added:
Carl Brennan and Leonie Shorrock are another couple who have recently moved in to a house on The Avenue, using the FirstBuy scheme. Carl said: “It is our dream home and it would not have been possible for us to get the house without using First Buy. We love the new house and are over the moon with the service that we got through the whole process.” The FirstBuy scheme has now been replaced by Help to Buy. The Government loans purchasers up to 20% of the cost of a newbuild home, so they need only a 5% deposit - and a 75% mortgage to make up the rest. The scheme is available for existing homeowners - as well as first time buyers - but is only available for new build properties.
Ted Christopher – taking the music further For most people, with the sun-screen bottles still languishing in the bottom of holiday suitcases, sand-coated thongs consigned to the washing machine and tans still fresh, the last thing on most sane minds is Christmas. But Ted Christopher, one of Scotland's finest, traditional – and contemporary - music performers, is again preparing to take his particular brand of entertainment ‘south of the border’, as corporate party and event organisers look at booking entertainment for the forthcoming ‘festive season’. A well-travelled and extremely versatile singer songwriter, he is equally at home singing heart-felt originals to a concert audience, belting out some of his huge pop/rock repertoire to a packed dance floor, or entertaining smaller, more intimate gatherings, worldwide. Unphased by any size of audience - he played to 750,000 people on The Mall in Washington DC; yet a week later, there were merely a dozen music buffs gathered in Cowie Miners Welfare and they were both great gigs. Ted, said: “It’s all about tailoring performances to a particular audience. “What works for a large corporate event, doesn’t necessarily transfer to weddings or other family celebrations and events. It’s about giving people a good time, by encouraging them not 36
merely to observe, but to engage and participate in a performance.” Ted has been involved in the Scottish live music scene since he was 15. He is proud to be a native of The Royal and Ancient Burgh of Stirling (now a city but he much prefers the previous description of his hometown), and was born and raised a mere claymore’s length from Stirling Castle and The National Wallace Monument. Ted performs many solo gigs, sometimes utilising a couple of hugely experienced, ‘journeyman’ musicians as “The Ted Christopher Band”, while also fronting the Scottish legends band, that is “Bannockburn”. For booking details and availability: Tel: 0(44) 1786 471323 or email:ted.christopher@btconnect.com Website: www.bannockburnband.co.uk/contact.htm