‘There are not a lot of villages that have a train network’
RESIDENTS OF NEW ESTATE NEAR NEWARK ‘RAVE’ ABOUT ITS COMMUNITY SPIRIT
RESIDENTS living on a new-build estate have spoken about why they love living in the “friendly” area.
The modern housing development is located in the rural village of Collingham, which is just outside Newark on the Lincolnshire border.
Many residents have said they are impressed with the village’s train station as part of what the community has to offer. Collingham station is part of the East Midlands Train network and has frequent services to Lincoln, Newark and Nottingham.
The station also includes services heading toward London in just over an hour and stops in Newark, Grantham and Peterborough.
Retirement homes, bungalows and apartments have been built by the Gusto Group as part of the development, as well as 40 homes by Larkfleet.
Radiographer Simon Johnson, 47, moved from Lincoln to the estate in early 2021 for a new job. He said: “There are lots of facilities in the village and it was well placed for the train station.”
When asked what his favourite part of the estate was, Simon said: “Probably the community, everyone is really friendly.”
He added: “It’s fantastic, better than where we were before.”
Writer Hattie Rees, 26, moved to the estate from Leeds in August 2020 and said: “This seemed like a really good fit because of the transport links with the A1 and train. We’ve made a lot of friends here, we often meet our friends down the field and let the dogs off to play.”
Although construction is still ongoing on the development, Hattie is “looking forward to what they are building with the retail section and stuff.”
Engineer James Robson, 37, moved to the estate from Witham St Hughes a little over a year ago. He said: “It’s peaceful, and nice people. I’m not massively social but the people who live around here are very friendly and welcoming and I’ve been invited in some of the other village bits and there’s been a couple of welcome barbecues.”
Retired John Harvey, 78, has lived in the village for 30 years but recently decided to downsize and move on to the estate.
He explained that there was a good sense of community, and he is involved with some of the village clubs, including cricket and bowling.
Father-of-two Ben Weaving, 38, moved to the estate from Witham St Hughes and explained that he and his family were one of the first to move on to the estate and have been there for almost four years.
He said: “It was like a building site when we moved in. We’ve got used to it and it’s got better over time as it has spread away.”
Ben explained that there are a lot of amenities in the village, and it’s useful being close to the school, football club and train station. He added: “There’s not a lot of villages this size that have a train network, and it’s also just down the road from Newark.
“It’s quite a nice side of the village to be on, and we are quite nestled in the community. Witham was OK, but it didn’t have that village feel.”
CEO of Gusto Homes, Steff Wright, said: “We have always been enthusiastic to connect our new developments into the existing community, this is one of the reasons we set up the Gusto Community Fund. It enables our new homeowners to donate £500 to the community, this could be a local project or community group.
“The beauty of Collingham is the fantastic village community with numerous groups and projects to get involved in. It is great to see the village continue to grow whilst keeping a brilliant community feel.”