First residents move in at Rugby’s new village

The first residents have moved in at a brand new village taking shape on the former Rugby Radio Station site.

Davidsons Homes has welcomed the first occupants to its Dollman Meadow development just in time for Christmas.

The housebuilder is building the first 250 homes in the newly-created village of Houlton, which is located just over three miles east of the town centre.

Named after the US town to which the first Transatlantic telephone call was made from Rugby Radio Station back in 1927, Houlton will eventually comprise 6,200 new homes, three primary schools, a secondary school, health centre and 299 hectares of green open space.

The scheme is a joint venture between property development company Urban & Civic and Aviva Investors.

A visitor centre and restaurant have already opened, while the village’s first school, St Gabriel’s Church of England Academy, is set to open next year.

The first buyers to step over the threshold of their new home at Dollman Meadow were Sean and Aimi McGlinchey.

The couple, who run their own paper merchant business, have moved with their son Daniel from the nearby village of Hillmorton into a four-bedroom detached house at the development.

Sean, 50, said: “We were previously living in a three-bedroom townhouse and wanted a bit more space for when the grandchildren came to visit. I was keen to stay in the Rugby area and we had been following the redevelopment of the Rugby Radio Station site with interest.

“Urban & Civic has a great reputation in land development and you can see that the scheme has been really well designed, with lots of green open spaces.

“We visited the launch of Dollman Meadow in April and reserved on the day. We had visited a number of Davidsons Homes developments across the region and we were really impressed with the quality and design of the houses. There is a real character to them, both inside and out.

“Davidsons have really thrown their arms around us and made us feel very special. Nothing has been too much trouble and we are so excited to be in our new home just in time for Christmas.”

Also among the first occupants is Simon Smith, 33, who has moved in to a three-bedroom detached house at the development.

The software engineer, who was previously living in a two-bedroom flat in Coton Meadows, said his interest had been piqued in the development when it had first been announced 10 years, and was the first buyer to reserve at the launch event in April.

Simon, who used the Government’s Help to Buy equity loan scheme to purchase his property, said: “I had a look around a couple of other developments around Rugby but none of them matched up to Dollman Meadow. Davidsons Homes seemed to be well ahead of the competition in terms of design and detail.

“It’s been great dealing with the staff in the sales office. They have talked me through everything and also helped with my Help to Buy application, which has made my mortgage much more affordable.

“Houlton has been really well planned. There are green open spaces, a very nice restaurant called the Tuning Fork and it already has a strong community feel. It’s a great place to live and it feels very exciting to be here right at the start.”

Dollman Meadow is a collection of three, four and five-bedroom homes located in the new village of Houlton in Rugby.

For more information call 07909 119 499 or visit www.davidsonsgroup.co.uk.