Pupils from Saughall All Saints CE Primary School were joined by staff from Sanctuary Homes – which is developing the homes close by in the village – at a special event.

The session at the school saw Sanctuary’s head of development – relationship management, Colleen Eccles, direct lively discussions around the history and geography of the site to provide motivation for a creative name. Pupils were also encouraged to think about the skills and interests that they might have that would be relevant to developing new homes.

Sanctuary's Colleen Eccles with Cecelia and Gracie-May

Favourite names from the day, which included Blue Bell Field, Willow Nook and Blossom Square, will now be put forward to the local council to consider when naming the new development.

The event took place as part of Sanctuary’s MORE programme, which connects with people in places where Sanctuary is developing new homes and helps to engage future residents with the organisation’s work.

The Saughall site on Church Road, part funded by Homes England, will comprise six one-bedroom apartments for affordable rent. Work is currently under way and is due for completion in spring 2019.

Baeleigh with Sanctuary's Colleen Eccles

Colleen Eccles said: “One of our main priorities when building new homes is to look for opportunities where we can support local initiatives.

“The competition gave us the chance to interact with the students and help them develop new skills, while learning more about our development work and the factors that need to be considered when building new homes. They showed great enthusiasm for the activity and it will be exciting to see which name is chosen for the development.”

Headteacher from Saughall All Saints Donna Prenton added: “The school council were thrilled to take part in the competition, and we are all delighted to be involved in a project that will hopefully provide a lasting memento in Saughall.”