Young Shropshire couple take first step on the property ladder

Talent Acquisition Manager Honor, 24, and 27-year-old Production Shift Manager Lewis also had their sights set firmly on the future, eager to find a property that was big enough for their future plans to start a family, and that aligned with as many of their lifestyle priorities as possible.

The couple began saving up for their own place from the moment they started renting a home together. After two years living in a two-bedroom semi-detached house in Ludlow, they were able to purchase a four-bedroom detached family home at Bellway’s Darwin’s Edge development in Shrewsbury.

Honor said: “As soon as we moved in together, we had a savings plan in place and wanted to start working towards our shared goal of buying our own home together. Although we loved our two-bedroom house, we knew it wouldn’t serve us long-term and we both always dreamed of owning our own home one day.”

“With this in mind, we began seriously considering where we wanted to live. Having both lived in Shrewsbury previously, and with me having grown up there and still having close family and friends in the area, we decided to focus our search in Shrewsbury. We knew that ideally we wanted a family home with a garage for storage, a utility room, and a driveway where we could park our cars.” 

Honor and Lewis explored several developments being built by different housebuilders but Bellway’s Darwin’s Edge stood out.

“The location was perfect as it was on the side of town with easy access to the A49 for Lewis’s drive to work and also close to our family and friends,” said Honor. “When we looked at the showhome, the layout, the finish, the specification and the quality of the build were the best we had seen.

“When we spoke to the Bellway sales advisor Susan we were impressed by her professionalism and by how welcome she made us feel even though we were just looking around. She was a person we clicked with straightaway and the customer service throughout our house-buying journey was brilliant.”

The couple reserved their new home off-plan and were given upgrades worth up to £9,000 by Bellway.

Lewis said: “We upgraded the floor downstairs and we had a shower put over the bath in the main bathroom and had both bathrooms half-tiled. Bellway also turfed the back garden, which is south-facing and will be a lovely place to spend time in the summer.

“This meant that we had the chance to put some of our own choices and personality in the house rather than just buying a place that we had had no input into at all.  Bellway allowed us to watch the progress of the build and it was an incredibly exciting journey to see the house go from its foundations, through pre-plaster, to having a roof put on, to being finished.” 

 Honor and Lewis and their two cats, Nessa and Nora, moved into their new home, which is built in Bellway’s Mercer style, on 15 November this year (2024). 

“It’s amazing to have so much more space,” said Honor. “We’re keeping one bedroom as a guest room which is perfect for when family and friends come to stay, one is a home-office, and the other has been claimed by Lewis as his man cave.

“The spacious kitchen/dining room is lovely and has French windows out to the garden and I can’t wait to have our friends and family over. The utility room is brilliant, it’s a proper-sized room which allows us to keep all the washing and other stuff in it and out of the kitchen.

“It may seem like a small thing but we love the fact that our driveway is wide enough for us to park our cars side by side instead of nose to tail. It means that both of us can come and go without having to bother the other. It’s ideal.

“This is our dream home - it ticks off everything on our checklist. We’re really happy with it and can definitely see ourselves living here for years to come.”

There’s currently a choice of three and four-bedroom homes available to reserve at Darwin’s Edge, with prices starting at £295,000 and £350,995 respectively. To find out more, visit bellway.co.uk/new-homes/west-midlands/darwins-edge or call the sales team on 01743 598533.