Mayor Glyn Bridges officially opened a development of 24 affordable homes, named to commemorate the beginning of the First World War, in Trowbridge on Monday.

Centenary Court was built by housing and support organisation Curo, which has invested over £600,000 into the scheme, with additional funding from the Homes and Communities Agency.

Of the homes, 18 are available through Wiltshire Council’s Homes for Wiltshire scheme on rents, below market values.

Among the first people to move in are Victoria and Marcus Gobby, who were welcomed into their newly-built one-bed apartment by the mayor.

Mrs Gobby said: “We both grew up in the area and work nearby – Marcus is an assistant manager in Chippenham and I’m a supermarket team leader in Trowbridge.

“We’ve found it difficult to find anywhere affordable and it’s been a long wait for us, but so worth it. We really love living here.”

Six houses are being sold through Curo’s Shared Ownership scheme which helps people get on the housing ladder by part-buying, part-renting.

All 18 rented properties are now let and only two Shared Ownership homes remain for sale.

Jane Alderman, head of Curo’s development team, said: “We’re especially pleased to have delivered these homes on what was a prominent brownfield site that had sat derelict for several years.”

The homes were designed by BBA Architects & Planners and built by Carter Construction with building work taking just over a year to complete.