Bowker Court in Timperley
Residents are preparing to move into a new state-of-the-art social housing development in Timperley.
Bowker Court – named after the late local Councillor Ray Bowker who was heavily involved in the project – is made up of 30 one and two bed flats in a three-storey building on Carrfield Avenue.
Built in partnership between Trafford Council and Trafford Housing Trust, it is the first new-build socially rented housing in the borough in over ten years, and the first to be built from the Trafford Affordable Housing Fund, which was set up to support the creation of social housing.
It was officially opened this week by Council Leader Cllr Andrew Western, Cllr Bowker’s wife Hazel, and Trafford Housing Trust’s Chief Executive Larry Gold.
Trafford Council Leader, Cllr Andrew Western, said:
“I am extremely proud to have helped officially open these superb new social housing units – the first of many we plan to open this year as part of our commitment to help solve the social housing crisis.
This scheme is in a fantastic location and will go some way to meeting the huge demand for social housing in the borough. Trafford, like many others, is desperately short of new homes that people can afford to live in and providing them will always be a priority for the Council. I would like to say a huge thank you to officers and members from the council and colleagues from Trafford Housing Trust for all their hard work.”
Larry Gold, Chief Executive of Trafford Housing Trust, said:
“Bowker Court is a prime example of what great social housing should look like, and I am incredibly proud to take part in opening the building and delighted that Hazel was able to cut the ribbon. Ray was a great supporter of this development as well as a former board member of Trafford Housing Trust and – as chair of governors at Broomwood Primary School – a real force for good in the community.
Trafford Housing Trust is committed to tackling the housing crisis, and these new socially rented properties are a great example of how we are achieving that ambition, with much more to come.”
Mrs Bowker said:
“The day was very emotional, and I am so proud that this new social housing has been named after Ray. My husband was extremely passionate about social housing and was involved in this scheme from the very start, working closely with Council officers and Trafford Housing Trust. Thank you very much to everyone involved – Ray would have been very honoured today.”
Lifelong Timperley resident and former Mayor Cllr Bowker, who passed away in January 2020, was heavily involved in the Carrfield Avenue project from its beginnings and was awarded the MBE in 2002 for a lifetime of service to the community. As Trafford’s mayor during the millennium year he raised more than £71,000 for two local charities – Trafford Young Carers Project and Trafford Crossroads.
The 30 units at Bowker Court were built by contractor Mears New Homes on behalf of Trafford Housing Trust and Trafford Council. The scheme includes 40 car parking spaces, 30 cycle parking spaces and is entirely electric powered and triple glazed, making it low energy and sustainable.
David Morley, Operations Director at Mears Ltd, said:
“We are very pleased to be able to support projects such as Bowker Court. It is great to see this landmark building being completed and look forward to it being fully occupied in the next few weeks.
This great achievement requires the collaboration of good partners, including THTD and Arcus, who have worked with MEARS to overcome the many challenges of building these 30 high standard apartments during these unprecedented times and I would sincerely like to thank everyone concerned.”
Posted on Friday 14th January 2022