A PAIR of newlyweds are the 1,700th buyers to make their home at Lancaster’s Riverside View development thanks to the government-backed Help to Buy scheme.

Keen runners Emma and Hannah Armitage said they were partly attracted to their Barratt-built house at New Quay Road because of its closeness to the quay, which they use as a running track.

The first-buyers were able to afford to get onto the housing ladder and pay for their wedding at the same time because they took advantage of Help to Buy.

Hannah, 29, originally from Devon, said: We only wanted to put down a five per cent deposit as we were planning our wedding, so the scheme allowed us to buy sooner than we might have been able to otherwise.”

Emma, 28, who hails from North Yorkshire, added: “We just loved the layout of the Helmsley style home; Hannah really liked that it was a three-storey house. The sloped ceilings on the third floor and the curved staircases were features we really liked.”

New figures released by the Homes and Communities Agency reveal that 368 homebuyers in Lancaster have used Help to Buy since it was launched four years ago.

Michaela Lancaster, sales director at Barratt Manchester, said: “Getting on to the property ladder can be difficult financially but Help to Buy is able to bring someone’s ideal home within reach.

“For us, this marks four years helping people like the Armitages move into their dream home.”

For more about Riverside View, where prices start at £181,995, visitwww.barratthomes.co.uk/riversideview or call 0844-8117799. The on-site sales centre is open Monday 12.30-5.30pm and Thursday to Sunday 10am-5.30pm.