SWINGING by Abbey Vale before it launched helped tee up a move to a bigger, better brand, new home for a pro golfer and family.

Extra space was a must for Stephen McIver and wife Kerry – with an extra bedroom and bathroom topping their wish list. They found that new homes at Abbey Vale in Widnes offered everything they were looking for and more.

Kerry, who works for a legal tribunal, recalled: “We were living in Great Sankey in a two-bedroom semi-detached property. Originally it was me and my daughter Ava, then I met Stephen and we got married and with his daughter Phoebe staying with us at weekends the house wasn’t big enough.

“We were driving home from somewhere and passed Abbey Vale when it was just a piece of land with a coming soon sign. I Googled ‘Prospect Homes’ and we went to look at their Bridgemere development in Burscough to get a feel for the homes.”

They reserved their new home, a three-bedroom detached Croston, off plan in mid-December.

“With a 5% contribution from Prospect we were able to buy a detached home, which we weren’t sure if we could afford originally,” Kerry said.

“We chose the kitchen, bathroom and flooring in January after going in to see the different options. We chose carefully as changing the kitchen isn’t something you can do quickly and cheaply.”

They selected kitchen units with a creamy finish with walnut worktops and received video updates showing the progress of their home including when the kitchen had been fitted.

“I had always wanted a hallway because we didn’t have one where we lived before – you had to walk through the living room to get to the kitchen so it wasn’t as cosy. My bucket list was a hallway, a bigger kitchen we could live in during the day and just use the living room at night,” Kerry added.

They moved into their new home at the end of March.

“We were the first to move in and for a few days were the only ones living here, which was a bit weird. Other people have started moving in now and it’s nice to have neighbours. We’d met some of them at the show home launch event and because everyone is in the same boat it makes getting to know each other easier,” Kerry said.

“Both girls were really excited about moving and everything being new and fresh was as big a selling point for them as it was for us. We have the bedroom with the en-suite so the main bathroom is theirs.”

While it’s too soon for them to see a difference in their energy bills, they’re feeling the benefit of the energy efficient features included in their new home.

“The house feels warm all the time – we’ve noticed that already. We had the heating on auto and it was so warm. At the back we have French doors with sun coming through to the kitchen so we don’t need the heating on like we did before in our old home,” Kerry added.

Current prices at Abbey Vale start from £215,000 for a three-bedroom semi-detached Aughton.

A Croston, like Kerry and Stephen’s, is available to view as a show home, along with a four-bedroom detached Whalley show home.

The show homes and sales office are open Thursday to Monday from 10am to 5pm at Abbey Vale, South Lane, Widnes, WA8 3UB.