About us
A trusted and family-owned developer with a track record of quality and delivery.
Story Homes was founded by Fred Story in 1987. We have a long and successful reputation of building high quality and high specification homes throughout Cumbria, South Scotland, the North East and North West of England.
This year we are celebrating our 35th anniversary of delivering high quality homes across the UK. While we have grown in size and status over the years, we have remained grounded, built on our ethos of ‘doing the right thing,’ and creating a brand synonymous with quality.
Story Homes is part of the wider Story Group which includes Story Construction, Rail, Plant and Story Scotland, delivering award winning civil engineering solutions across the UK.
Watch the video to hear from Fred and some of our outstanding team.
Customer testimonials
Our vision is to design and build high quality homes that people aspire to live in, that bring something different to the areas in which we operate.
You can find out more about Story Homes here.
We are proud to say that 97% of our buyers would recommend us to a friend. This was recently confirmed by a survey carried out by the Homes Builders Federation (HBF) and the National House Building Council (NHBC). Watch the video opposite to find out why.
Another example of happy new homeowners is Holly Watson & Grant Walker who recently bought their Story home in Whitehaven, West Cumbria. Click here to learn more about why they bought their Story home.
FAQ's
The Proposals
Our proposals for Cuerdale Garden Village will include around 1,300 new homes, a local centre, leisure facilities and a primary school to deliver a sustainable community that responds to the needs of existing and future generations.
The site will also respond to the growth opportunity provided by Samlesbury Enterprise Zone and the recent GCHQ announcement by providing land for employment, delivering new jobs, skillsand spending in the area.
You can find out more about what our plans will deliver here.
Story Homes have designed the masterplan for the site.
Story Homes was founded by Fred Story in 1987. We have a long and successful reputation of building high quality and high specification homes throughout Cumbria, South Scotland, the North East and North West of England.
Yes, 35% of the new homes at Cuerdale Garden Village will be affordable.
No, Story Homes acts on behalf of a single landowner for the entire site.
Design & Appearance
The proposed development will respond to the existing environmental framework and enhance wildlife corridors through proposed additional north-south and east-west green links.
The existing green network is formed by trees and hedgerows. A rich biodiversity defines the landscape character of the site and will be a fundamental element in considering the design of the new settlement.
The scheme will in fact provide greater access to the countryside, with 64ha of green open space, the equivalent of around 119 football fields a fundamental part of the scheme.
A Garden Village is a holistically planned new settlement which enhances and prioritises the natural environment, offers high-quality housing, locally accessible jobs and facilities in healthy and sociable communities.
You can find out more about Garden Villages here.
Locating development at Cuerdale provides a number of strategic benefits, such as the delivery of local housing needs and the enhancement of the local natural environment.
The site is a sustainable choice for development as it provides a real opportunity to develop local employment, leisure facilities and homes with good public transport and walking and cycling links to nearby facilities and the surrounding green network.
In addition, it is within a short commute to the Salmesbury Enterprise Zone and the planned GCHQ facility and represents a fantastic opportunity for those working in these areas to live locally to their employment.
The vision for Cuerdale Garden Village is to deliver:
- Much-needed homes
- Jobs and Economic Growth
- Natural and Wildlife Enhancements
- Sustainable Development
- Community Assets
- Improvements to Transport and Access
You can find out more about Our Vision here.
Environment & Sustainability
Yes, the existing woodland such as Walmsley Fold Wood and Huntley Wood will be enhanced and protected, whilst the development will include over 64ha of green open space, the equivalent of around 119 football fields.
You can find out more about our place for delivering green spaces here.
Throughout the neighbourhood, landscaped parks and habitat corridors will create a rural setting focused on the environment that will contribute to a biodiversity net-gain. This means that the landscaping and planting will encourage more wildlife than the site currently sees and experiences.
You can find out more about our place for delivering green spaces here.
Story Homes will be embracing the latest sustainable technologies and providing opportunities for cycling and walking.
You can find out more about how the development will reduce carbon footprint here.
The site currently lies within the Green Belt, however the release of the site will not undermine the strategic function of the Green Belt which is to prevent unrestricted sprawl of towns and the merging of them with surrounding smaller settlements.
The land which comprised the Site plays a limited role in preventing the unrestricted sprawl of Preston to the east as Cuerdale Garden Village will be a new standalone settlement and will not form an extension to Preston. The Garden Village will be a contained release that is well constrained by the existing road network and presence of existing industry. The development will be set within a robust landscaping scheme so as to respect and enhance natural boundaries.
Part of the north-western parcel of land lies within Flood Zones 2 & 3. To address this, a strategy has been developed to provide a defense against flooding which includes ensuring no building will be located within the Flood Risk 3 area and limited development will be proposed for the Flood Risk 2 area. There is no residential development proposed within a Flood Zone, development will be limited to areas of hard-standing (car parks) and leisure facilities.
To assist with surface water run off, a series of measures will be included such as attenuation ponds and swales. Run-off from parking areas and roads will be required to pass through a petrol interceptor prior to discharge to the appropriate watercourse, to ensure run-off is not polluting the local waterways.
Traffic & Highways
A number of bus routes (59,280,852,441) have bus stops along the A59 (New Preston Road) and Cuerdale Lane. These routes have connections with nearby town centres such as Preston and Blackburn. The nearest bus stops are located within a 400m radius from the proposed “heart” of the scheme. The scheme also proposes a Park and Ride facility that will enhance the bus network and encourage active use of public transport.
The Garden Village will also stimulate investment and provide additional passengers. Local bus companies could adapt their services to meet this new demand with more regular services or additional routes.
A full Transport Assessment will be submitted with the application and will include highway improvement works where appropriate.
Socio-Economic Benefits
- A range of new high-quality housing.
- Significant employment opportunities during construction and operational phases.
- Additional local expenditure as residents move to the area.
- Additional council tax payments.
New services and facilities will meet local needs such as primary schools and a well-defined local centre. Story Homes will work with the Council to agree any appropriate financial contributions to local services through a Section 106 agreement.
Jobs will be created during construction phase as well as a significant number of employment opportunities once the scheme has been developed. Proposals being brought forward at reserved matters stage will provide detail of the type of employment opportunities across the employment parcels including a mix of logistics units, mid-size commercial units and office units.
The residential parcels include a local centre with further opportunity for additional employment uses.
Contact us – 0333 358 0502 (Monday – Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm)