A special brick-laying ceremony to mark the start of construction of 200 new homes at the new ‘Tapestry’ development in Battle, East Sussex took place on Wednesday 18 June 2025.
Cllr Andrew Barton, Mayor of Battle Town Council, laid the first brick with Richard Thomas, Chair and Neill Tickle, Chief Operating Officer of Rother DC Housing Company, along with Graham Morris, Managing Director of Greymoor Construction. They were joined by local ward members Cllr Vikki Cook and Cllr Kathryn Field, Joe Powell, Interim Director of Community, Rother District Council and Stacey Speakman, Homes England. The mayor then took a tour of the 7.5 hectare site alongside councillors from Battle Town Council.
Featuring 200 high-quality new homes, this development marks the largest housing project in a rural town within the Rother district in over a decade. The site, allocated for housing but undeveloped for generations, is now under construction thanks to the efforts of the Rother District Council Housing Company, working in partnership with Rother District Council to overcome the site’s longstanding complexities. Crucially, the project was made possible with funding support from Homes England.
Richard Thomas, Chair of Rother DC Housing Company, said: “I am delighted to have reached another milestone in our work to bring new, quality homes to Battle. A huge thank you to Battle’s town mayor, Cllr Andrew Barton, for joining us to formally lay the first brick at this flagship development. Today’s event kick-starts an intense period of house building which is scheduled to see the first homes completed by next Spring.”
The development, known as Tapestry, features a mix of 1, 2, 3 and 4-bedroom eco-efficient homes. Seventy properties will be for sale on the open market whilst 130 have already been acquired by the UK’s leading social enterprise Places for People (PfP) as Affordable Housing. PfP will sell 84 homes as Shared Ownership, which is part rent and part buy, as well as 46 affordable rented homes for local people.
Cllr Andrew Barton, Mayor of Battle, said: “It has been an honour to be part of today’s event to celebrate the start of construction of these much-needed new homes for Battle. On behalf of local residents, who have experienced various degrees of disruption during the first phase of the project, it was reassuring to meet Greymoor’s team and learn more about the measures they have in place to reduce the impact on the local community during this next phase of house building.
“Alongside the bricks and mortar, I’m heartened to learn more about the energy-saving measures that will feature within each property, as well as the tree planting and habitat creation that, over the coming years, will enhance the surrounding landscape for both people and wildlife.”
Inspired by local architecture typical of the High Weald, the homes will utilise materials such as red brick, slate and clay tiles, all set within green public open spaces featuring hedgerows and cottage-style borders.
Each property will incorporate its own air source heat pump enabling householders to benefit from energy efficient homes which are cheaper to heat and easier to cool. All homes will have an electric vehicle charging point to support the transition away from diesel and petrol vehicles and their emissions.
Rother DC has contributed to tree and woodland mitigation with the planting of almost 500 young native trees which will be maintained by Greymoor. Additional planting will be undertaken by Rother DC Housing Company on completion of the scheme, as part of its broader landscaping plans to help improve ground flora diversity.
Graham Morris, Managing Director of Greymoor Construction said: “Building homes goes hand in hand with building communities and we look forward to nurturing a growing community here in Battle as our work progresses over the coming months.”
The Tapestry at Blackfriars development is scheduled to be fully completed in the autumn of 2027. Those interested in hearing more about the scheme can register their interest at www.tapestrylife.co.uk
About Rother DC Housing Company
Rother DC Housing Company Ltd is a private business established in 2020 to increase delivery of new, high-quality housing throughout the district of Rother in East Sussex. To improve supply of new homes to meet increasing housing need and to achieve the company’s commitment to deliver 1000 new homes by 2037.
As a company wholly owned by Rother District Council, the company’s focus is on the provision of high-quality, energy efficient new homes for market sale and affordable housing tenure, to include affordable rent and low-cost home ownership/shared ownership.
The company acts as a delivery partner with the Council to achieve a number of mutual priorities included in the Company’s Business Plan, the Council’s adopted Council Plan 24-28, the emerging Housing Development Strategy 2025 to 2030 and Rother District Council Climate Strategy (2023 to 2030).
The company is served by a Board of Directors which sets the strategic direction and oversees governance and scrutiny of performance against the approved business plan.