Loyal customers Kathleen and Philip Varey have bought their fifth new home from developer Bellway.
The retired couple, who have just moved into a three-bedroom Hazel house type at the housebuilder’s Ottermead at Jameson Manor development in Ponteland, have spent 44 out of the last 47 years living in a Bellway home. Retired civil servants Kathleen, and Philip, bought their first Bellway home, a two-bedroom semi-detached bungalow in Chapel Park, Westerhope, in 1976 – the year they got married. In 1979, they moved to a three-bedroom detached Bellway home at Hadrian Park in Wallsend, then to a three-bedroom detached property in Cramlington in 1981, before buying a detached three-bedroom home at Augusta Park in Dinnington in 2017.
“We know what we like and we like what we know, and we like Bellway,” said the couple. “We have lived in two other properties that were not built by Bellway and the finish was not up to Bellway’s standards.
“We love Bellway because they are a trusted brand from the North East and you know what you are getting with them – a well-built home and great customer service. They have never let us down.”
The couple initially downsized from their three-bedroom house at Augusta Park to a non-Bellway two-bedroom apartment in Ponteland in 2020 but found that apartment living did not suit them.
“We downsized from a three-bedroom home to a two-bedroom apartment, thinking that a smaller place with no garden would be better for us as we are not getting any younger,” said Kathleen. “But how wrong we were. We both missed the garden terribly as there was nowhere we could sit and relax together.
The couple sold the apartment and knew it was time to buy another Bellway home.
“We wanted to stay in Ponteland because we love it here and our son lives in the village and we have many friends locally. We walked along to the Ottermead at Jameson Manor development and fell in love with the place.
“It’s where the former Northumbria police HQ was and there are some gorgeous listed buildings in a semi-circle around a green area. Bellway have designed the development in a manner very sympathetic to the heritage of the site and we were lucky to secure one of the plots that looks across to the listed buildings.”
Kathleen and Philip reserved the plot and moved into their new home in June.
“Ashley and Jan, the sales advisors at the development, were wonderful,” said Kathleen. “Nothing was too much trouble for them and they really helped smooth out everything so that, yet again, the house-buying journey with Bellway was excellent.
“Because we reserved off-plan, we were able to customise the options to suit our requirements by adding a built-in microwave oven, Silestone work surfaces, upgraded tiling and oak internal doors,” she said. “This was great because it felt like we had a proper input into how the house looked so that it felt a bit more like our home.”
Having a garden and a garage again is a big plus for the couple.
“The garden is our favourite feature of the new house, but Philip is also very glad that he has a garage where he can park his car.
“We bought our first home together and have come full circle with Bellway, buying our final home from them. Thanks to them, this property is more than a house, it’s our forever home and we love it.”
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