Son and parents buy new homes just a few doors apart at Porters Grove in St Leonards-on-Sea

The parents of occupational therapist Chris Walsh have now moved to a new home just a few doors away, after they fell in love with the new Bellway home he bought.

Chris, 49, who works for East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, moved into his new two-bedroom terraced house at Porters Grove in St Leonards-on-Sea in October 2024 after selling his old place in Hastings.

He lived with his parents Gill and Alan in Hastings while his new home was finished, and they have since bought the same house style as him just around the corner at Porters Grove. They moved into their home at the end of April.

“What happened after I moved in was that my mum and dad fell in love with it so much,” Chris said. “It has more storage and an en suite and a separate kitchen. So now my mum and dad have done exactly the same as me.”

Chris’s move was prompted by a visit to friends who had bought a new house at Porters Grove before him. He hadn’t been thinking of moving until his visit to the development, where Bellway is building 210 new homes off Darwell Close.

He said: “My friends said, ‘you must come and see us’, so I went and saw their new home and it was absolutely beautiful, and they suggested I had a look at the showhome.”

Chris who, with his dog Tilly, was living in a new-build three-bedroom townhouse at the time, knew he eventually wanted to downsize to a two-bedroom house but didn’t think it was the right time. However, when he looked at the development plans for Porters Grove, he changed his mind.

He said: “It appealed to me because it was half an hour off my journey to work; close to the sea; and close to friends in Bexhill. There are lots of beautiful walks here – more than where I was before where it was just streets and there wasn’t anywhere within walking distance to take Tilly.”

The sales team told him about Bellway’s Express Mover scheme which helps customers sell their own property by paying the estate agent fees and liaising with the estate agent.

“I thought, I haven’t got anything to lose here. It’s worth a shot. I went with an open mind and thought if it’s meant to be it’s meant to be,” he said.

They showed Chris the Potter house style and the plots available. “I absolutely fell in love with it,” he said. There were no Potters available to move into at the time, so Chris had to wait for his house to be completed.

“The sales team made it work for me, and I thought this is amazing. They kept me informed throughout the process. They have been absolutely fantastic. It really threw me how amazing they were, to the point of where they took photographs for me of the build process. Everybody has been friendly and professional.”

The layout of the house works perfectly for Chris as it has a lounge/dining room and a separate kitchen. “I know other people love an open-plan kitchen/dining space, but I love cooking and entertaining and it’s nice to have my own space in the kitchen,” he said.

“My favourite part of the house is my lounge. It’s bigger than I had before.”

As an occupational therapist, Chris also looks at his home from a professional standpoint, noting that the house has an accessible design with step-free access at the front and back of the property. “Even though I’m 49, I have to think about when I get elderly. I’m thinking of the bigger picture, and I have no need to move from here.”

Though he is in a smaller house overall, he says it feels bigger because the layout is better designed. He said: “In the townhouse all the living areas were smaller and most of it was taken up with stairs and hallway."

And he likes the street layout and mix of housing at Porters Grove. He said: “This development doesn’t feel crammed in. The road space is really wide. It’s a very lovely development and I like the fact that everything doesn’t seem the same, it’s a real mix.”

He also likes the fact that there is a friendly community on the doorstep. “My neighbours are all so lovely, we all get on really well.”

As he hoped, he is enjoying the location near Combe Valley Countryside Park which is especially nice for walks with Tilly. He said: “We can be in the middle of nowhere in six minutes. You can’t put a price on that, and it goes on for miles.”

Now, he and his mum and dad are looking forward to spending even more time together.

“We as a family are very close and I’ve always said I want to care for my mum and dad,” he said. “I love it here and it is the icing on the cake having them so close.”

There are two, three and four-bedroom houses currently available to reserve at Porters Grove, with prices starting from £299,995.

To find out more about the development, visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/kent/porters-grove or call the sales team on 01424 541366

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