The WhatHouse? team considers some of the best places to live in Staffordshire, focusing on the range of high-quality brand new homes currently for sale in the county’s favourite market towns.
Stafford
The town celebrated its 1,100th anniversary in 2013 and has a number of preserved buildings illustrating its history since Norman times. Undergoing a major regeneration to enhance its town centre, it already has a good range of shops and services, a riverside park, pubs and restaurants, and an impressive number of state schools rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted. Its station offers direct services to a host of major towns and cities. There are several new homes developments currently underway.
David Wilson Homes, part of WhatHouse? Award-winning Barratt Developments, is offering two-, three- and four-bedroom homes at The Lapwings at Burleyfields, to the west of the town centre. Prices currently range from £225,000 to £425,000. Top-of-the-range at the moment is the ‘Kirkdale’, the only one of its type at this development. This detached home comes with garage and paring for two cars. Its heart is the open-plan kitchen-diner with French doors to the west-facing garden, family area and adjoining utility room. The spacious lounge has a bay window. All four bedrooms are comfortable doubles, with en suite to bedroom one.
Nearby, Bovis Homes is busy the Partridge Walk with its own collection of two-, three- and four-bedroom homes. Prices start as low as £129,998 thanks to the Home Reach initiative, a great way to part buy-part rent a home, requiring a much smaller deposit and mortgage than buying outright. For buyers who qualify for this scheme, a 50% share of the ‘Magnolia’ is available on Plot 65 (full market price £259,995), a three-bedroom/two-bathroom semi-detached house with lounge, kitchen/dining room and private parking. On the open market, the ’Alder’, at £472,995, is an attractive detached family house with integral garage and driveway. There are bifold doors to the garden from the kitchen/dining/family room, a separate sitting room and en suites to two of the four bedrooms.
Just two miles to the west of the town centre and conveniently located for the M6, Bertelin Fields is a Barratt Homes development where three- and four-bedroom houses have starting prices from £331,995 to £490,995. Young families will be delighted to have Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ rated St Paul’s C of E Primary School nearby. It’s a great time for keen buyers as there are currently some great offers on selected plots worth thousands of pounds, and there are initiatives like Part Exchange and a Key Worker Deposit Contribution. The three-bedroom ‘Bewdley’ on Plot 363 is priced at £334,995 but Barratt will contribute up to £16,750 towards your new home and include a flooring package. All the bedrooms are comfortable doubles, the largest coming with an en suite shower room. Downstairs are the lounge, a kitchen/diner with utility room cloakroom and integral single garage.
For older buyers, Dean’s Park Court is a development from specialist McCarthy Stone which offers its Retirement Plus service to over-70s. It comprises brand new, carefully designed one- and two-bedroom apartments which offer security, energy efficiency and low maintenance. Each residents can arrange a personalised care package if they need one. Communal facilities include lounge, landscaped garden, bistro and a guest suite for visitors. Almost every property here is snapped up but there’s currently a rental package for a one-bedroom property from £1,965pcm.
Arkall Farm
Tamworth
Around 18 miles north-east of Birmingham city centre, and 30 miles from Stafford and Leicester, Tamworth is a town that grew significantly in the Industrial Revolution but already had played a major role in the region for centuries. There’s ongoing major work to update retail and public realm in the heart of the town, though residents with already appreciate the shopping, amenities and places to go out there. Numerous ‘Good’ and ‘Outstanding’ schools around Tamworth will draw families to the town.
If you’re a first-time buyer or looking to move from a rented property, a Shared Ownership home at Bromford’s Arkall Farm development might make an ideal choice. There are a couple of examples of the ‘Patterdale’ house type here which are available through the scheme, starting at £100,000 for a 40% share (full market price £250,000). You pay a deposit and mortgage on the share you own and a subsidised rent on the remainder. For a very limited time – until 28 February 2023 – buyers have a choice of offers worth £750 towards things like flooring, white goods or legal fees. This two-bedroom house has a lounge leading past the cloakroom through to the kitchen/ dining area with French doors to the garden. Upstairs are two double bedrooms and the bathroom.
To the west of the town, Barratt offers two-, three- and four-bedroom homes for sale at Dunstall Park, with a host of special offers and buyer schemes currently offered. Just a couple of miles from the town centre and station, these homes are on the doorstep of the Ventura Retail Park, with great shops, cafés and restaurants. There are some major roads just a few minutes’ drive away for journeys further afield. Prices start at £256,995 but one of the new releases, the ‘Moresby’ at £329,995, is a popular Barratt three-bedroom/two-bathroom house type with dual-aspect lounge and kitchen/dining room, and a southwest-facing garden.
Next door, David Wilson Homes’ Heron’s Reach offers a different collection of two-, three- and four-bedroom house types priced from £237,500 to £500,000 right now. It is already 70% sold, but would-be buyers can still see three show houses there to find out first-hand what’s on offer. A number of homes are ready to move into here, one of the most notable being the ‘Hadley’ on Plot 129. This detached three-bedroom/two-bathroom home comes with two private parking spaces and has the bonuses of luxury flooring throughout, an upgraded kitchen and a southwest-facing garden. Priced at £367,000, if you reserve by 28 February 2023 you’ll also get a 5% deposit boost worth £18,350.
‘The Hatfield Corner’ house type from Persimmon Homes
Cheadle
Cheadle in Staffordshire (not to be confused with the village in Greater Manchester) is around 10 miles east of Stoke-on-Trent and offers its own shops and amenities as well as soon notable period buildings. Local schools include The Cheadle Academy (rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted) and Painsley Catholic College (rated ‘Outstanding’). For lovers of the countryside, it’s around a 20-minute drive to the edge of the Peak District.
Just north of the town is where Persimmon Homes is busy at Pottery Gardens, with three- and four-bedroom houses from £224,995 to £294,995. For a limited time – on reservations up to 28 February 2023 – buyers can choose either using the housebuilder’s own 105% Part Exchange scheme, or having their first 10 months’ mortgage payments paid for them. A stand-out house for sale right now is called ‘The Hatfield Corner’, indicating its place on the street scene. Priced from £269,995, It has a lounge at the front and a utility room off the dual-aspect kitchen/dining room at the rear. A WC and understairs storage complete the ground floor layout. Bedroom one has an en suite, the other two share the family bathroom.
Within walking distance of the town centre is Augustus Fields from Walton Homes, which is now around one-third sold. When completed, it will be a collection of 39 new homes, a mix including three-bedroom bungalows and four- and five-bedroom executive homes. The housebuilder recently opened a brand new show home, the largest house type on the development, called ‘The Hanley’. A spacious hallway leads to an open plan kitchen/family room benefitting from plenty of windows and French doors opening onto the rear garden. There’s a utility to the rear of the integral garage, and this house has a large living room too. The master bedroom has an en suite, with a separate family bathroom and three further double bedrooms completing the first floor. On the second floor you will find another double bedroom and a shower room. Find out more at waltonhomes.co.uk.
The ‘Norbury’ house type from Barratt Homes
Uttoxeter
Situated midway between Stoke-on-Trent and Derby and well-known for its racecourse, Uttoxeter has had a market charter issued by the Crown for over 700 years. There remain a lot of Victorian building and a landmark statue of author Samuel Johnson, who ran a bookstall in the market in the 18th century. Over the past 20 or so years, a number of projects redesigned and brought new shops and amenities to the town centre. There’s a retail park on the outskirts of town with a number of major stores and a leisure venue with cinema, ice rink and bowling.
Just south-west of town, Barratt Homes’ Poppy Fields is only a four-minute drive from the town’s railway station and just off the A518, only 25 minutes from Stafford. The current two-, three- and four-bedroom homes for sale here have starting prices ranging from £229,995 to £395,995 and there are currently a number of assistance schemes and deals offered on selected plots. The ‘Norbury’ on Plot 264 is a three-storey semi-detached home type from £329,995 which is offered with a Part Exchange scheme to help existing homeowners avoid the pitfalls of the property ladder and the expense of estate agent fees. This home has three spacious bedrooms, with the top floor dedicated to bedroom one and its en suite. There are number of upgrades included in its £329,995 price tag.
In the same area, Taylor Wimpey is busy at Hamilton Copse, currently offering three- and four-bedroom homes from £299,950 and house-hunters are invited to visit to see the show house and view home here, with appointments available Thursday to Monday. The unfurnished view home is the ‘Kitham’ house type, with an example on Plot 185 priced £395,000. There’s a lounge at the front and a kitchen/dining room at the rear, which has doors to the garden, a WC and the integral single garage. The family bathroom is upstairs along with four spacious double bedrooms, one of which has an en suite shower room. Find out more about current Taylor Wimpey developments.
The ‘Alnmouth’ show house at Deer's Park
Hednesford
Hednesford is around eight miles south-east of Stafford, on the edge of Cannock Chase. Market Street has a good mix of independent stores and places to eat and drink, and the town hosts a farmers & craft market once a month. There are numerous schools in town rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted, for children of all ages. The town’s station offers regular services through Birmingham, making it a place for commuters to consider home.
The final few homes are available at Deer’s Rise, a Barratt Homes development in the north of the town. It has brought a whole range of house types to suit all sorts of buyers but the remaining homes are all four-bedroom types, including a show home called the ‘Alnmouth’, priced from £499,995 including an upgraded kitchen fitted, all furniture, curtains, carpets and light fittings. This detached home comes with four bedrooms (one with en suite), kitchen/family room, a dining room, a study and a reception room, as well as a double extended garage.
Show Ambassador Laura Hamilton talks about The Midlands New Home Show here:
Find retirement homes in Staffordshire
Find new homes in Staffordshire