There has been a surge in demand for new homes in Cambridgeshire this year.

Adrian Evans, managing director of Peterborough-based Persimmon Homes East Midlands, says that a strong start to 2014 is leading to more jobs as his team works to build homes to meet the needs of local people.

He said: “Visitor levels to our sites are up 10 per cent compared with this period last year and our weekly private sales rate per site for the first 15 weeks of 2014 is 25 per cent ahead of 2013.

“Nationally, we already have approximately 7,200 forward sales into the private sale market for 2014, which is 38 per cent higher than in 2013.

Mr Evans says the Help to Buy scheme is acting as a catalyst for the housing market.

He said: “In our region, Help to Buy is providing a welcome support to people who have struggled to get finance for a home in recent years.

“We’re extremely pleased that this scheme is set to continue with the Government recently announcing an extension from March 2016 to March 2020.

“Locally, the business has increased its build rate and we look forward to further development launches in Raunds, Biggleswade, Retford, Newark and an extra phase at Witham St Hughs.”

The housing boom has led to more jobs being created in the company, Mr Evans said.

He said: “As well as essential housing for local communities, this increased activity also brings more jobs for the region.

“We have actively been recruiting since January for a diverse range of positions and we are now focusing on school leavers as we seek to fill apprentice positions.”