Couple’s new home in Congleton was worth the wait

They were the first to reserve and among the first residents to move into the Castle Green Homes development on Barn Road.

“We sold a two-bedroom house we’d owned for years but was too small and rented a four-bedroom home while we looked for a new build that met our needs. It took over a year to find a new build because finding the right builder was very important.  We looked at site plans and floor plans for lots of housebuilders,” Terry recalled.

“We came across Castle Green Homes in North Wales and then found out they were planning new homes in our search catchment area of Cheshire. We investigated via the council website, found the plans and waited a long time for the homes to be released for sale.”

They visited four different Castle Green developments before choosing a Henley Waterside style at Woodland Manor. It’s a three-bedroom rendered corner plot, with Juliet balconies to two of the bedrooms.

“We reserved off plan when there was nothing here yet. This meant we got the best price. If we bought the same house now, it would cost an extra £5,000,” Terry explained.

“It’s a very unusual design – there are only two others being built here. It’s the sales office on one of the North Wales developments and viewing that gave us an idea of the size of the house and the layout.”

“Huge” windows let lots of light in, while high ceilings help emphasise the sense of space.

“I’m 6ft2 and can’t reach the ceiling unless I jump,” Terry laughed. “It’s surprising how big a room feels if the ceiling is higher. We only figured that out by visiting other show homes.”

Terry was born and raised in Congleton, and both he and Katrina worked abroad, before moving back to the UK. They now both work in Kidsgrove. Being local to work was an important factor as they didn’t want to be spending hours commuting every day.

“There’s a whole array of housebuilders in Congleton and a link road to get to Kidsgrove, without going through the town centre. There’s a lot of things being built too including a Starbucks, KFC, M&S Food and Aldi,” Terry added.

“We joke that we could live our lives within a 200-metre circle and would only need to leave to go to the airport. Facilities here are just going to get better over time, which will increase house prices.”

Using Castle Green’s customer portal Willow they were able to explore the layout of the development before it was built and to see what would be in front and behind their new home.

“There’s a lot of green open space at Woodland Manor. Other builders would have planned more houses but there are gaps here. We aren’t crammed in like sardines,” Terry explained.

“The site layout is really good. The roads have a bit of a curve. It flows really nicely. Because there are different styles of houses next door to each other it doesn’t look like a production line of homes.”

Their home features solar panels and an electric vehicle charging point. They plan to add battery storage.

“I wanted an energy efficient home,” Terry said. “There’s nothing worse than a cold house that loses heat.”

He added: “Years ago, I used to do a lot of building maintenance and could turn my hand to a lot of DIY jobs, but I don’t want to come home from work to do DIY, I want to come home to relax.”

He described the customer support as “amazing”, with “nothing too much trouble”, adding that he’d “absolutely 100% recommend Castle Green because of the quality of build of the house”.

“The entire process has been really good from getting in touch to reservation and then seeing the progress, viewing at foundation stage, then when it was built but a skeleton. For me, as an engineer, to see where the pipes and wires are is really important as it helps work out things like where to put the brackets for the TV,” Terry explained.

Current availability at Woodland Manor includes a selection of three and four-bedroom homes, priced from £244,000.

Show homes at the development are open daily from 10am to 5pm. For more information see here.