MEMBERS of the community have united to provide affordable houses to local people.

Volunteers have formed the not-for-profit organisation, Hexham Community-Led Housing, with the aim of developing cheaper housing for the benefit of residents.

As part of the scheme, the organisation will work Northumberland County Council and housing associations to access grants and acquire affordable housing.

These properties would then be available for the public to rent at discounted rates, or purchase at an affordable price.

The formation of the organisation followed a strong desire from Hexham people for cheaper houses, as identified through a housing needs assessment, conducted as part of the Hexham Neighbourhood Plan, in 2016.

One of the directors Dave Clegg said: “It gave us strong evidence of the significant housing needs in the town.

“It showed that different ages have different needs, and some people are wanting to downsize into bungalows not being built by developers where young families are needing to start on the housing ladder, but there’s no social housing in Hexham. Groups of people find it difficult to find suitable housing in Hexham and quite a number need to move away.

“My children and a lot of their friends have wanted to stay in Hexham, but they couldn’t get on the housing ladder here.”

Hexham Community-Led Housing is taking inspiration from successful ventures elsewhere in Northumberland, most notably Wooler, Haltwhistle and Stocksfield.