Hassocks businessman moves home ... 500 yards down the road

Mark Dodd moved into a new three-bed home in Kingsland Gate in Hassocks last August and now he’s moving again into another house on the same Bellway Homes estate.

The 52-year-old operations director was so impressed with his new property that he plans to buy a similar - but bigger - one with his partner just 500 yards away.

Soon after Mark got the keys for the house, he and his partner Carmel Leahy, a 52-year-old procurement manager, decided they wanted to live together.

Mark said: “I moved in on my own but quite soon after, myself and Carmel had the chat and we decided we wanted to make the commitment and move in together. “Once we had made that decision, we knew that we needed a bigger house.

“There was no need for any discussion about where we should buy our house together because I had been so impressed with Bellway throughout the whole home-buying process at Kingsland Gate.”

He added: “We are impressed with the development because the houses, which look good, are spaced apart rather than being lumped together.”

He said he and Carmel, who is selling her house in Horsham, are taking out a joint mortgage on the new property.

“It will be our first home together and that’s special,” he said.

“Carmel lives 17 miles away in Horsham so it will be great to share the same space and not have to spend so much time apart.”

He said that the short distance of the new move would also mean his commute to Crawley would stay the same while Carmel was unaffected as she mostly worked from home.

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