It won’t come to anyone’s surprise that the start of 2020 has been a challenging one for the Western Division given the sudden and ongoing impact that Covid has had on the industry and society more generally.
However, to echo Paul’s lead thought piece, I am pleased to say that things are looking positive for the Division in both the near and longer term – with plenty of activity for the team across the entire geographic extent we cover. This includes our live planning application and ongoing marketing exercise for 600 dwellings in Poole – to a newly secured site in East Riding of Yorkshire. So yes, one of the few benefits of Covid is that we haven’t had to endure England’s motorways quite as much!
I am confident that my positivity is a result of our established portfolio of sites in the Western Division which range from longer term, genuinely strategic promotions of 10+ years – to much shorter-term sites which either benefit from a planning consent or an allocation in an up-to-date, adopted Local Plan. Coupled with our exceptional team of land, planning, technical and design professionals, I am a firm believer that we have an edge over our competition. I’m sure those of you who work with us would agree with that.
I set out below a selection of updates that reflect this positivity – and I trust you’ll agree with me that it gives us a great platform to build on as Covid’s impacts subside.
Hopefully, you find this an informative and half-amusing (!) update – and please do not hesitate to contact me or any of the Western Division team with queries or comments on its content. All being well, I hope to be sharing a pint with some of you in a busy pub in the not too distant future!
All the best,
Jon – Managing Director, Western Division
Nick Jones – Midlands Regional Director
Perhaps the biggest update for the Western Division is the appointment of Nick Jones to the senior role of Midlands Regional Director.
Nick has been with us since March and is a very highly regarded figure in the Midlands property industry. We’re really pleased to have him on board to lead the Midlands and to continue its growth. We will also benefit from his vast experience in the commercial market as we work on an increasing number of mixed-use projects Please get in touch with Nick with any opportunities that you may have or for a more general catch-up.
Harrogate Planning Submission
As a clear sign of our company’s resilience to the impacts of Covid: only a fortnight ago we submitted a detailed planning application for 95 new homes in the centre of Harrogate in partnership with Redrow Homes.
The submission comes after we successfully secured the allocation of the site in the recently adopted Harrogate District Local Plan.
Accessed from Claro Road, the homes will be the latest phase of Redrow Homes’ sell-out Devonshire Gardens development. House types will range from one to four-bedroom houses and apartments – including a mix of detached, semi-detached and mews properties. There will be 38 affordable homes.
Devonshire Gardens has been a huge success so far and we look forward to Redrow Homes delivering this next phase. With planning consent secured from Harrogate Borough Council, we expect the first homes to be ready to move into by Autumn 2021.
In other Harrogate news, we have also agreed terms with a development partner to acquire our Kingsley Farm site in Harrogate (155 homes). Like Claro Road, we secured an allocation for this site through the Harrogate District Local Plan after extensive local plan engagement. We expect to be able to reveal our development partner in our next newsletter update.
Congleton Marketing Launch
Since our last update, we have also submitted a planning application for a new mixed-use development to the north of the town of Congleton in Cheshire East.
The plan for the 53-acresite represents something a little bit different for us, as alongside the provision of 185 homes over 23 acres, it includes 28 acres of commercial employment land and a further 1.7 acres of retail provision.
The site is part of the wider North Congleton Masterplan which has identified a substantial area to the north of the town as having the potential to make a significant contribution towards the economic growth of Cheshire East and its future prosperity. This will be the fourth site we have brought forward in the town over the past ten years.
Joe, in our team is leading on the project management and marketing of the residential aspect of the site – and Nick is managing the commercial aspect of the site with our joint agents Legat Owen and Savills. We expect to launch the marketing material to interested parties later this Summer. Please contact Joe and Nick for further details.
Kidderminster Progress
Our promotion of a parcel of land that will bring 120 new homes to Kidderminster has taken a step forward after Wyre Forest District Council submitted its draft Local Plan to the Planning Inspectorate.
Located north west of Habberley Road, our 14-acre green belt site will offer a range of house types including affordable properties in a sought after setting close to schools, shops, and Habberley Valley Local Nature Reserve. Kidderminster town centre is just one mile away.
It’s one of the new housing developments proposed in the draft Local Plan, which the Council expects to be examined later this year.
With the Planning Inspectorate due to examine the draft plan later this year, we expect to submit a planning application in December, with a view to marketing the site to prospective development partners in Spring 2021.
Allocation secured in New Forest
Some 150 miles south of our Kidderminster site, we have also received good news that the New Forest District Local Plan has been signed-off by the examining Planning Inspector.
This means our site off Everton Road in the attractive village of Hordle has been removed from the Green Belt and allocated for a minimum of 100 dwellings.
This is the culmination of five years’ worth of hard work by our team in promoting the site through the plan-making process, where we have successfully argued that it is a logical site for release from the Green Belt.
We are now preparing a planning application with a view to securing permission and marketing our site to housebuilders later this year.