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A new home for Dudley and his family
Between April 2019 and February 2020, we developed 321 new homes across Kent and the South East, providing affordable homes for local people. This included our Elms Park development in Borstal Rochester. Built on derelict land, the new development consists of 8 affordable rent homes and 10 shared ownership homes.
These new family homes form a small cul-de-sac with large gardens, allocated parking and landscaping, creating a small community for the residents that live there.
Dudley Pearce and his family moved into their new home at Elms Park in July last year. Previously Dudley, his wife Teresa and their 17-year-old grandson had been living in a rented bungalow with a large garden in Gillingham until Dudley underwent heart surgery in 2011.
I really used to enjoy working in the garden, taking pleasure in the time I spent outside.” said Dudley.
However, Dudley was then diagnosed with vascular dementia, caused by poor genetic circulation that was brought on from his heart surgery.
As his dementia progressed, Dudley found he couldn’t work in the garden anymore or do as much around the house.
“The bungalow also had some damp, which wasn’t good for my heart, and this just created extra burden for my wife. We both felt the house and garden were getting too much for us,” he added.
“Due to my ill health I really wanted long-term security for us, in particular for my wife and grandson; something that we didn’t have living in private rented accommodation,” said Dudley.
With the need to move to a more secure home, Dudley and his wife registered on the Kent Homechoice website.
“I used to look on the website every day, bidding on different homes but never having any luck. Then one day we received a phone call from Golding Homes about a new home,” said Dudley.
They had been successful in their bid for a brand new 2-bedroom home at the Elms Tree development in Borstal.
“We were invited to attend a viewing of the house. When we first walked in, we were absolutely delighted. It had everything we needed, even a shed in the garden. We were over the moon.” said Dudley.
The family said moving into their new home has made a huge difference to their lives, helping to make them feel more secure and settled. “I feel much less stress now that we have moved. If you are stressed it affects your health, so I am quite serious when I say that I think living here will prolong my life,” he said.
Since moving, Dudley is now able to concentrate more on his work at local Universities, supporting undergraduates with their medical and care support degrees. He said “I teach ‘Living with Dementia’ courses to the students, helping them to understand more about the needs of patients living with dementia. It feels good to be able to help and make a difference, safe in the knowledge that I have a secure home to go back to.”
“It’s a dream living here, and I feel very privileged to call this my home,” he concluded. “Thank you, Golding Homes.”