The construction of more than 150 new homes on the upcoming Broadnook Garden Village development has begun following a groundbreaking ceremony attended by the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Charnwood Borough Council. Multi-award-winning Midlands developer, Cora Homes, is building its first collection of 154 homes at the garden village in Charnwood. Cora Homes is the second developer to begin work on site of the county’s first garden village, which will (eventually) be made up of 1,950 homes as well as a host of facilities including a new community hub, Broadnook Court; a brand new Broadnook Park; retirement homes, care village and primary school. Members of the Cora Homes team met with representatives from partner firms and the Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayoress of Charnwood to mark the start of works on Wednesday, 31 July. Cllr David Northage, Deputy Mayor of Charnwood, said: “It’s a real privilege to be here today to witness another step forward in bringing this dream to life. “Charnwood Borough are immensely proud to be host to Leicestershire’s first Garden Village. This development is so exciting – a brand-new stand-alone community is being created. A community complete with every up-to-date facility to provide for modern day living. “Cora Homes are excited and proud to be part of this amazing project, and so they should be. We wish them well and thank them for being part of the Broadnook journey.” Steve Keenan, Construction Director at Cora Homes, said: “This is a momentous occasion for both our business and the county of Leicestershire as we commence works on this historic development. “At Cora, our mission is to create amazing places – something we are very confident of achieving at Broadnook through our highly energy efficient homes and the mix of green spaces and community amenities. “Broadnook is designed to meet the long-term needs of homeowners while creating much-needed infrastructure, community hubs and enterprise zones that will be a real benefit the wider area. “We anticipate interest in our homes to be very strong given the high desirability of this unique garden suburb.” Aside from an array of excellent quality, energy-efficient homes, Broadnook will also be home to extensive parkland, community and healthcare facilities and education centres including a 570-capacity primary school. Other additions include an early years facility, provision for a GP surgery, retirement village, shops and cafes. More than 50% of the entire garden village will be devoted to green spaces, with other sustainable additions including car-free zones. The first five hundred trees on the twelve hectares of designated woodland space have already been planted, with thousands more to come. Broadnook Garden Village has accessibility built into its core.  Its location on the edge of Charnwood closest to the city means it will have short, frequent bus routes, while its proximity to the M1 and A6 is anticipated to make it popular among commuters to Nottingham and Derby. The three developers Cora, Davidsons Homes and Bovis are collectively investing £750,000 into local bus services to optimise transport links – and reduce the need for unnecessary car travel. Bert Broadhead, Director at Cora Homes, added: “We’re hugely proud to be breaking ground at Broadnook. It’s a real privilege for Cora to be working in a wonderful part of the country and we’re very excited to be bringing the Broadnook vision a step closer to reality. “We’ve worked incredibly hard alongside our partners to bring forward a new garden village in the truest sense of the word. “We can’t wait to see the project advance and for people to see the Cora way; that Britain’s extraordinary lack of homes can be tackled without compromise and that we can deliver new communities with very high design quality, open spaces, playing fields, facilities, a sustainable ethos and a long-term stewardship structure that ensures it is residents, and not developers, who make the key decisions for the area moving forward.” More information on Broadnook and the developers creating the vision can be found at broadnook.co.uk Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Bloor Homes has celebrated the start of its new ‘Treledan’ development at Saltash, the developer’s first in Cornwall. Bloor Homes will complete phases 2 and 3 of this key 300-acre site for the county, which already has outline planning consent for 1000 new homes, a brand-new primary school, allocation for commercial development and infrastructure improvements. As well as delivering much needed two, three, four and five bedroom new housing for people in the local area, including 90 affordable homes across phase two, the new development will retain large areas of public open spaces including parkland, children’s play areas, allotments, community orchards, forest gardens and sports pitches as part of its Section 106 (S106) commitments. There will also be a new cycleway across the whole site, a new footbridge over the A38 and a new access roundabout from the A38. Bloor Homes will also make S106 contributions towards local infrastructure, primary and secondary education, health care, public transport and a new neighbourhood centre, bringing the total in excess of £2 million. Bradley Davison, Managing Director for Bloor Homes’ Exeter region, said: “Since Treledan is our first development in Cornwall we have worked very closely with Cornwall Council and other key stakeholders in the local area to ensure we are providing quality new homes for Saltash which are sympathetic to the local area and meet Cornwall Council’s sustainability and affordability requirements. “We have been building new homes and communities across England since 1969, but we are really looking forward to sharing our vision for phases 2 and 3 here and opening our showhomes to the public in Cornwall for the first time next year so they can experience the high quality and style we are bringing to this important location.” The land was allocated for development in Cornwall Council’s Local Plan as part of the ‘gateway to Cornwall’ and is a helping to address the issue of affordable housing as part of its economic growth strategy. The new development is in line with Saltash Town Council’s Neighbourhood Plan whose vision for a ‘prosperous and diverse economy’ is linked to excellent provision of new homes. Bradley adds: “Although we are in the very early stages of building our first new homes at Treledan, people can already find out more about them and register to receive priority information by visiting our website – bloorhomes.com and we look forward to welcoming people to the sales cabin this Autumn.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Far East Consortium (FEC), the developer working in a joint venture-partnership with Manchester City Council (MCC) to deliver Manchester’s transformative £4 billion Victoria North regeneration project, has appointed CR Construction to deliver the next phase of 895 homes at the vibrant Red Bank neighbourhood.   Representatives from FEC and CR Construction were in attendance at a signing ceremony on site on Wednesday 17th July to celebrate this significant milestone in the development process.   FEC secured planning permission in August 2023 for 1,551 new homes, across plots known as NT02, NT03 and NT04, along Dantzic Street, together with a separate outline planning permission for a further 3,250 new homes within Red Bank under its transformative ‘Wild Urbanism’ concept which seeks to prioritise green space, biodiversity and active travel.   CR Construction is currently working on FEC’s neighbouring 634-home Victoria Riverside development which is due to complete in early 2025. Building on the success of this partnership, CR Construction will now deliver the next phase of Red Bank Riverside on plots NT02 & NT03 on Dantzic Street, which will include a collection of three towers reaching 20, 31 and 34 storeys-high, and another mid-rise, nine-storey block set within extensive public realm.   The scheme was designed by Hawkins\Brown Architects and Schulze+Grassov in collaboration with Optimised Environments landscape architects.   Works are due to start on site early next year, following the completion of the enabling works by Manchester City Council and its appointed contractor BAM, which is funded under the Housing Infrastructure Funding secured by the joint venture in 2019.   Nick Whitehouse, Delivery Director at FEC, said: “The execution of this contract to deliver the next phase of Red Bank Riverside is another significant milestone for one of the country’s largest regeneration projects. We’re pleased to engage the market leading skills of CR Construction on this exciting project.”   Calum Kidd, Managing Director said: “CR Construction are delighted to expand upon our existing working relationship with FEC in the UK. Securing this project is another significant milestone for us as we further establish our business and presence in the UK market as we continue to deliver on our promise to be one of the best, providing added value to our clients, partners and stakeholders.”  Shane Kelly, Projects Director at CR Construction said: “We look forward to delivering another prestigious, high quality residential project with FEC in Manchester. Our market presence in the North West is now well established and our reputation is growing as we continue to demonstrate our ability to deliver’’  Apartments are now available for reservation at the 189-home Falcon, with the next tower due to launch to the market later this year. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Higgins has clinched a deal with London’s Lambeth Council to build more than 360 new homes in the heart of Brixton. The council is set to work with Higgins Group on the second phase of development in Somerleyton Road under proposals for a net-zero development of 363 new homes, of which 54 per cent, 195 homes, would be affordable and 138 of these would be for social rent. The development partner was chosen through a procurement process for the scheme and will build on the first phase of the Somerleyton Road project which saw significant local projects completed. Those included the opening of the new Brixton House theatre and the refurbishment of the locally listed Carlton Mansions. Carlton Mansions now runs as an affordable workspace for local businesses, and Brixton House theatre has a mission to empower the undervalued, unheard, and excluded communities through creative and cultural spaces. The second phase of development, which is still subject to planning permission being granted, also includes plans for 63 extra care homes, a two-story standalone community gym and improvements and upgrades to Somerleyton Road itself. Councillor Danny Adilypour, Deputy Leader of the Council and Member for Sustainable Growth and New Homes said: “Appointing a delivery partner is an important step towards building desperately needed high quality and energy efficient new affordable homes while maintaining our focus on maximising delivery of new homes at Social Rent. There are also important improvements to the local area and community benefits proposed. “This proposal also exceeded our affordable and extra care homes targets, which is a real achievement at a time when the spike in inflation has made building so much more expensive, and when every single new affordable home matters in Lambeth. “We have set a target to deliver more than 500 much-needed new affordable homes by 2030, to maximise the number of new homes at Social Rent within this and to get these new homes built at pace. To achieve this we need to work with like-minded partners who have the experience to support us in delivering these homes, which we simply would not be able to do by ourselves following over a decade of deep cuts to local government funding and underinvestment in social housing. “Through their commitment to excellent community engagement, I am looking forward to seeing the many opportunities that Higgins will provide to our residents throughout this project. From co-design sessions on the development plans to job and skills opportunities through the construction phase of the project, we will work together to bring positive social and economic impacts to Brixton and wider Lambeth.” Following formal agreement of this partnership this month, the pre-planning and resident engagement work for Somerleyton phase two are due to begin in Autumn 2024. Declan Higgins, Chief Executive Officer at Higgins Group added: “We are delighted to be appointed as Lambeth’s development partners to deliver the second phase of Somerleyton Road. We understand the Council’s objectives for the accelerated delivery of affordable homes and are committed to working with residents and stakeholders to create affordable, sustainable communities addressing local housing needs. “We are committed to engaging with the community throughout the design process and will deliver meaningful social value initiatives focussed on the needs of residents including training and employment, volunteering and community support. We look forward to collaborating with residents and stakeholders as well as the team at Lambeth and the community to bring these exciting plans to fruition.” The Somerleyton Road phase two procurement process was carried out under a competitive procedure which began in August 2023 after a Cabinet approval in July 2023. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Construction work is progressing well at Balfour Beatty’s brand-new site off Old Road in Chesterfield, where the first showhome is set to officially open its doors to visitors later this year. The development is being built on the site of the former DXC Technology Manor Offices, with demolition work on the old buildings taking place in late 2023. Balfour Beatty Homes is set to build up to 60 new homes at the site, with enhanced biodiversity and public green open space for the whole community to enjoy, as well as homebuyers. Gill Sabin, Sales and Marketing Director for Balfour Beatty Homes, said: “It’s always wonderful to see building work begin to take shape, particularly as this site had become rather run-down and dilapidated – we’re set to bring it back to life with our collection of new homes. “There are so many reasons why someone would want to move to the pretty town of Chesterfield or buy a new home there if they’re already a local, including its 800-year-old open air market and unique ‘Crooked Spire’ church. “It’s a wonderful gateway town to all the rugged majesty of the Peak District, with fantastic hikes and scenic views that the whole family can enjoy. Not only that but it’s perfectly located for great access to Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham – meaning that city workers can benefit from a rural lifestyle with great connections. “We urge people to register their interest on our website, to be among the first to find out more about the new homes coming to Chesterfield as soon as it’s released.” To find out more information on the new homes and register your interest, go to balfourbeattyhomes.com Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals