Further expanding its commitment to creating even more New Build homes in St Helens, Torus Developments is investing £17.2 million into the development of 77 affordable homes at Rutland Street in Cowley Hill, St Helens.
Contributing to a three-year programme to build over 500 new homes in St Helens, Rutland Street will see 23 Shared Ownership houses and 54 over 55s Affordable Rent apartments created.
Focused on reducing the carbon footprint of the development itself and future residents’ energy bills, Rutland Street will see Torus Developments further its commitment to becoming a greener, future-focused developer. Funded, in part, by Homes England’s Strategic Partnership 2012-2026 programme and £1.16 million from Mayor Steve Rotheram’s Brownfield Land Fund, the scheme will redevelop a site, that was vacant for over 10 years, by creating modern, energy saving homes of the highest quality.
Discussing the scheme, Director of Development and Technical, Steve Alcock, said: “Rutland Street showcases our ongoing dedication to creating new affordable homes and employment opportunities in St Helens. It’s a fantastic scheme overlooking Victoria Park and everyone involved has worked collaboratively to reach this point.
“Torus are committed to improving the experience of our customers and neighbours in St Helens, creating a development that is fully embedded in its local community way before keys are handed over to future residents.”
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “We are specifically targeting brownfield sites to help protect our precious green spaces from overdevelopment – turning once-forgotten areas back into thriving communities.
“I want everyone in our area to have the chance to realise their home ownership ambitions – to get their foot on the property ladder and invest in their future. Yet, for too long, achieving that dream has been out of reach for many of our residents who have been forced to contend with a broken housing market, that simply doesn’t work for them. Thanks to devolution, we are working to put that right by investing £60 million to open up a pipeline of 4,000 homes across our six boroughs by ensuring that there are suitable sites for development.”
Kate Collins, Senior Manager, Provider Management, Large and Strategic Providers at Homes England, continued: “As a Homes England Strategic Partner, Torus has committed to delivering new affordable homes via the Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26. It’s fantastic to see works underway Rutland Street, which brings a neglected urban area back into use and represents a significant contribution to the programme. At Homes England we are committed to supporting our partners to increase the supply of good quality affordable housing in the communities where they’re needed most.”
HMS’ Construction Director, John Barrow, continued: “Rutland Street is the largest site HMS has undertaken in St Helens to date and I am looking forward to be leading the development of a scheme that will see a number of green solutions embedded into its design. For HMS, we want to be at the forefront of building more eco-friendly schemes and be able to continue working with Torus on developing homes that meet residents’ needs in the short and long term, is something I am proud of. When completed, Rutland Street will not only be a great example of how we work to build fantastic homes, but actively create opportunities for local people and suppliers.”
Due for completion by Summer 2025, Rutland Street will completely redevelop a brownfield site to create a thriving housing development that will give future residents access to numerous local amenities.
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