A PRIMARY school pupil helped unveil a new development of 31 affordable homes in Witham after winning a competition to name one of its streets.

Greenfields Community Housing and Gipping Construction organised the special event on Thursday outside the completed homes off of Forest Road, Witham.

The development was officially opened by Imogen Gardiner, a nine-year-old pupil from Elm Hall School.

She won a competition run by Greenfields to name a road on the development, now called The Spinney.

Imogen said: "Spinney is a name for a very small forest. I think this would be a good name, as it’s linked to a forest but not tree names, like the older road names in the area. This is so that people can tell it is new houses.”

The event was also attended by Greenfields staff, residents and board members as well as representatives from Braintree Council and Gipping Construction.

The site includes ten two-bedroom houses, one three-bed home and 20 one-bed apartments with three of the homes being sold at shared ownership and the remained being offered at affordable rent levels.

Dale Butcher, chairman or Greenfields' board, said: “We want to improve lives in any way we can, and building homes that enhance and even create communities is very important to us.

"It was a great pleasure to see so many people join us to celebrate this occasion.”

Ian Finch, a resident of the new flats, said: “I used to live in Surrey with my partner and, when I got cancer, my circumstances drastically changed and I moved here alone.

"It’s worked out perfectly and it’s a new start. And Greenfields have been really good at keeping in touch."

Greenfields has built 250 new homes across the district since 2011.