THE first show home at Wareham’s Westgate housing estate opens its doors this weekend.

Developer Bloor Homes is building 153 homes, a mix of three and four-bedroom houses, on the Worgret Road site.

Tomorrow, potential buyers are invited to a lunch at the new show home, an event set to be attended by Wareham Mayor Cllr Carole Turner.

More than 60 per cent of the homes have already been sold in the development’s first phase.

Bloor Homes say the houses, starting at £345,000, will also be available from £276,000 under the government’s Help to Buy scheme.

Bloor Homes Southern sales manager Emma Livings said: “We’re delighted to be launching our new show home and marketing suite at Westgate, providing potential purchasers with an opportunity to look around the new property and see what it would be like to live on the development first-hand.

“We have seen a considerable increase in demand across the region and Wareham is proving a particular hotspot.

“We are also seeing a greater influx of people looking to relocate from Surrey and Berkshire for the greater quality of life offered when living near the coast.”

However, the new development will do little to ease concerns about affordable housing for local people.

Last month, district planning chiefs ruled against a housing scheme at Spyway Orchard, Langton Matravers, that could have provided 24 affordable housing association homes.

This decision by Purbeck District Council’s planning board came after the local authority’s housing spokesman, Cllr Mike Lovell, criticised a government decision to scrap housing companies’ contributions on small developments.

At Westgate, developers say all the homes will be available to buy under Bloor Homes Assisted Purchase scheme, where the company will help people sell their existing homes.

The show home opening event starts at midday on tomorrow.