First Time Buyers Package

• Purchasers must have a household income not exceeding £80,000.*
• After the discount (30%*) has been applied, the first sale of the property must be at a price no higher than £250,000.
• The property should be the buyer’s only home and a purchaser will need to use a mortgage or home purchase plan for at least 50% of the purchase price.
• If you decide to sell the property, the home will be independently valued, and the First Homes discount will be re-applied to this new value for the next owner.
• Property must be your first home.*
• Local connections and/or key worker status as determined by New Forest District Council/ Dorset Council. Please speak to a Sales Adviser to check your eligibility.

*First Homes criteria indicative and subject to change. We are working in partnership with New Forest District Council and Dorset Council to confirm eligibility criteria. Please speak to a Sales Adviser for more information.

First Homes will be offered on a limited number of plots at our newest development in Fordingbridge: Whitsbury Green and Verwood: Potters Wood. First Homes does not have an application deadline and is open to eligible applicants whenever the plots become available. You will then apply to have your eligibility confirmed when you are ready to reserve a plot under the initiative.

Which plots at Whitsbury Green are available under this initiative?

We have set aside a limited number of two bedroom homes, called The Setwood for First Homes buyers. This desirable design features an open-plan Living/Dining/Kitchen area, large double bedrooms and the excellent finish you would expect from a Pennyfarthing home.

Local connection criteria are:

• Residency in the area – 2 years or 3 years out of the last 5 years
• Close family continuous residency in the area – (parents, siblings, non-dependant children) – 5 years evidenced
• Paid employment in the Dorset Council area – 16 hours per week average for minimum period of 1 year (including zero hours contracts)
• Offer of permanent employment to social tenant in the Dorset Council area – 16 hours per week average for period no less than 1 year (including zero hours contracts) and where it is unreasonable to travel from current social housing property
• Location requirements – Any requirements detailed in a Section 106 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and or a local lettings plan

A local connection is not established if residency is a consequence of being detained under the authority of an Act of Parliament or by being placed in the area to receive treatment or rehabilitation of any kind for any kind of dependency.

An Essential Local Worker is defined as someone employed in Dorset and in one of the following criteria:

• An employee of Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust;
• An employee within the Dorset health system, including Dorset CCG/ICS and Primary Care providers;
• Any other public sector employee providing frontline services in areas including health, education, and community safety such as teachers, police, firefighters, military personnel, social care and childcare workers;
• Private sector employees and the self-employed providing frontline services in care and includes teachers, health care, social care and childcare workers;
• Any other frontline occupational group experiencing recruitment or retention issues.

An Essential Local Worker would be deemed to be ‘employed’ in one of the following circumstances:

• In paid full or part-time permanent employment for 16 hours or more per week;
• Working in Dorset on a temporary or zero-hour employment contract that has been in place for at least 6-months and can demonstrate they have worked at least 16-hours per week since starting the employment contract;
• Working in Dorset on a fixed term contract for 16 hours a week or more;
• A permanent or fixed term job offer which they have accepted and meets the above criteria;
• If the employer is based outside of Dorset, the employment would have the actual place of work in Dorset. For those with a caseload or have a roving remit (e.g. district nurses, social workers, police officers etc), the applicant would need to obtain written confirmation from their employer that a substantial amount of their day-to-day duty fell within the District;
• For the self-employed, if the employment required the worker to work outside of Dorset from time to time, they would need to demonstrate that their permanent base of operations was within Dorset.