TENANTS of a Vale housing association are living in affordable accommodation in the middle of an area where surrounding homes sell for between £300,000 and £750,000.

Evesham and Pershore Housing Association marked the official opening of the development, at historic Besford Court, in a ceremony attended by Wychavon district councillors and the association's chairman.

The association worked with Prowting Homes in the £240,192 development of four two-bedroomed houses on the site, which dates back to 972, with previous owners including Edward the Confessor and the Abbott of Pershore.

Although association spokeswoman Rebecca Bailey was unable to confirm how much rent residents of the association's homes paid at Besford Court, she said average weekly rent for its properties was £47.75.

That was in stark contrast to the affluence of the upmarket properties more typical of Besford Court.

The homes were built on the site of a former school. The school had been opened in 1917, two years after the property was acquired by the Catholic Church.

The school closed in 1996 and lay empty until 1999, when it was bought by Prowting Homes.

Wychavon District Council helped fund the Besford Court development with a £113,480 grant.

Among people attending the development's official opening were councillor John Smith, chairman of Wychavon District Council, councillor Peter Wright, also of Wychavon, and Richard Williams, chairman of the housing association.