Chancellor Philip Hammond paid a visit to Aviva and Crest Nicholson’s new Longcross Garden Village in Surrey, taking a tour of the site which will, when complete, present 1700 homes and 850,000 sq ft of high-quality office space.

Longcross is the first to launch of 14 government-backed garden villages. A joint venture between Aviva and Crest Nicholson, the garden village will also have 1m sqft of Grade A office space and supporting facilities generating around 5,000 jobs. Comprising over 300 acres, and with a railway station and 80-acre country park.

The Chancellor’s visit is testament to the success of the Garden Village movement.

The first phase, known as Upper Longcross, will provide 200 new homes built by Crest Nicholson. It is scheduled for completion in January 2018.

Over 25 per cent of homes currently on offer were reserved on the opening day of sales alone, with 100 prospective buyers visiting the site.

Executive Director at Crest Nicholson, Chris Tinker, said,

“We were delighted to welcome Chancellor Philip Hammond and to share our vision for Longcross with him. His visit is testament to the success of the Garden Village movement.

“Longcross is an incredibly exciting development and the interest among prospective buyers has been fantastic. We look forward to welcoming new businesses and residents to this burgeoning community in the weeks and months ahead.”