Lilly's buzzing

A new playground has been christened 'Bumble Bee Park' after a young resident won an Eastlight competition.

A young girl is wearing a hi-vis jacket and Eastlight branded hard hat. She is stood in front of her mum who is also wearing a hi-vis jacket.

Lilly, 6, took part in the contest among fellow residents at Eastlight’s Mount Hill development in Halstead, Essex. Her entry was selected as the winner by Eastlight judges, and we caught up with her and her family in person to award her a £50 Amazon voucher.

Lilly was all smiles as she accepted her prize, and will be there when Eastlight officially unveils the new playground in a few weeks. The 71-home Mount Hill estate is a completely affordable, Eastlight-led development, which means all the homes are built to our rigorous standards, are highly sustainable and energy efficient.

Since forming in 2020, Eastlight has built 1,343 homes. This year we’ve so far built 135 – 79 for affordable rent, four for social rent and 52 for shared ownership.

  • Eastlight residents Lilly and her mum are stood in between Eastlight's Andrew Allocca and a man from Stonebond.

    Lilly’s family moved to Mount Hill five months ago and say shared ownership has allowed them to get the home they need. Her mum, Charlea, 28, said: “With having children, it means a lot because we’re quite young ourselves and are trying to get onto the property ladder and have a big enough house for two children, so to have this site and the shared ownership scheme has done us wonders.

    “There definitely needs to be more housing schemes going up because there are a lot of people I know that can’t always afford a full mortgage outright, so to have new-build estates and more houses that offer help is quite important.”

Watch this space!

We'll be sharing pictures of Bumble Bee park when it's completed and ready for the children of Mount Hill to enjoy!