Weston Homes – one man’s vision

If you're buying a new-build home, your final decision will be made based on a number of factors: value for money, location, build quality and styling are all in the mix, but for many buyers, handing over a large sum of money for what will most likely be their most expensive purchase ever, they'll certainly want to be sure that the housebuilder they're buying from is reputable and won't let them down if things go wrong.

Weston Homes is still run by founder Bob Weston, who set up the company from above his own garage at home in 1987, after a successful stint in a variety of roles at Fairview Homes, and he's a man who is not afraid of overseeing a development personally to ensure its completion to the highest possible standards. This attention to detail extends to the company's customer care service, which includes a dedicated contact for buyers and thorough on-going training and performance monitoring of their staff.

Weston Homes has grown from a one-man band to one of England's principal independent housebuilders, with a staff of 180, constructing an average of 500 new homes a year. Bob Weston is proud to boast that all the essential skills needed to run his company successfully, including design, sales, finance, planning and technical staff, are all employed in-house at the company.

At present, there are several diverse Weston Homes projects nearing completion all over the South East: in Hitchin, Hertfordshire (New Mercia), Whistable, Kent (Swale Park) and Colchester, Essex (Hawkins Wharf), to name but three.

The range of properties that Weston Homes has built since its inception is impressive: from modest one-bedroom apartments to family homes to stunning, deluxe city penthouses, and takes in modern architectural design and sensitive restoration and conversion of period property.

Weston Homes has several new developments set to get under way, including a mix of houses and apartments at South Ockenden (Java), apartments in Baldock (The Grove) and a further selection of apartments in Westcliff-on-Sea (Pembrook Place).

Bob Weston's attitude to land ("if we have it, we build on it") suggests that, having seen a 40% increase in annual turnover in the year to August 2010, and with some 2,500 plots in their land bank, Weston Homes will be initiating even more new projects in the coming months too.