Southern Housing has confirmed its first major asset acquisition since registering as a housing provider in December 2022 following the merger of Southern Housing Group and Optivo. The first tranche transfer of 694 homes from L&Q, which completed today, builds on Southern Housing’s already significant presence in Surrey, England. Richard White, Executive Development Director at Southern Housing said: ‘We are thrilled to have successfully completed a stock acquisition of this scale during what is an exciting time for Southern Housing. ‘It provides a timely boost for the new organisation and represents our forward- looking approach to being a strong, well-resourced local provider of homes. Strengthening our presence across key local authorities will allow us to achieve our ambition of deepening our ties with communities, being a stronger partner with local authorities and creating better housing for local people’. The newly acquired homes are located within eight local authorities, Guildford; Mole Valley; Runnymede; Rushmoor; Reigate & Banstead; Surrey Heath; Woking; and Wokingham. Southern Housing’s significant and pre-existing presence has been built up over several decades. The acquisition of almost 800 former L&Q properties is wholly aligned with the strategy of the new organisation. Emmanuel Thiagaraj, Senior Stock Acquisitions Manager at Southern Housing said: ‘This is our first stock transfer completion under the Southern Housing banner. We are delighted to share its success so soon after the start of the New Year and the new organisation. The acquisition epitomises Southern Housing’s vision as a creator of communities where everyone has a safe, secure home in a place where they’re proud to live. ‘Creating areas where we have a high concentration of homes, allows us to wield more influence and focus more resources, which will enable more positive change on behalf of our residents’. The acquisition will take place in two tranches with 694 homes transferred today, with the rest in March 2023. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Construction work has started on a multi-million development by Jessup Partnerships to transform Leicester’s iconic former bus depot on Abbey Lane into 117 homes for housing association Midland Heart. The site which has sat empty since 2007, will be the biggest residential scheme in the city and will be made up of a mix of 103 semi-detached and terraced houses, ranging from two, three, and four bedrooms, as well as 14 maisonettes. The Edwardian depot building itself opened in 1904 and construction work is to be completed by winter 2024. All the homes will be timber-framed as part of Jessup’s commitment to adopting sustainable business methods, while it continues to develop on its strong ESG credentials. Leicester-based RG+P Architects has designed the new homes, which will include 29 two-bedroom houses, 70 three-bedroom houses, and four four-bedroom houses as well as 12 one-bedroom maisonettes and two-bedroom maisonettes. Chris Timmins, Managing Director at Jessup, which opened an office at Meridian earlier this year said: “This is an iconic site and we understand its importance to the city. We are honoured to have the opportunity alongside our partners Midland Heart to transform this derelict site which has stood disused for so long into new homes for families and first-time home buyers in Leicester.   Midland Heart Executive Director of Finance and Growth, Joe Reeves, said: “We are delighted to be working with Jessup on this project. “The Abbey Lane Bus Depot site has been derelict for some years and it’s great to be able to use our joint expertise to regenerate it into homes for affordable rent and shared ownership. Not only will this project transform a disused brownfield site but provide much needed affordable housing in the city.” The development is situated right across the road from Abbey Park which hosts sprawling 32-acre grounds, with a river and flower displays set on top of Augustinian monastery ruins. The site also has great transport routes being just two miles from Leicester City Centre and on bus route 54A. The site is also just a four-minute drive from Ross Walk Nature Reserve which is perfect for any canine companions and is just a five-minute drive to Cossington Recreation Ground which boasts a floodlit outdoor ball court, a 30-meter indoor swimming pool, sauna facilities, and a gym. Jessup’s 96-strong team provides a full development management service from land acquisition and planning consent, through to the construction of high-quality homes across the wider Midlands. Jessup also benefits from preferred partner status with Homes England. For further details visit jessuppartnerships.co.uk or follow on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JessupPartnerships or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jessuppartnerships/?hl=en Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

WORK to construct 157 homes on the outskirts of Carlisle will soon get under way after planning permission was granted for the development. Carlisle City Council’s Development Control Committee unanimously approved a reserved matters planning application from Penrith-based Genesis Homes for 157 high-specification homes to be built on land near Cumberland House Clinic, west of Cumwhinton Drive. Outline planning permission for the construction of up to 160 homes on the site was granted in 2020 on behalf of government agency Homes England, which acquired the site to promote is use for housing. The Woodlands development from Genesis Homes, which will comprise a range of one to five bedroom houses, flats and bungalows including the conversion of Victorian building Cumberland House into six apartments, will preserve surrounding woodlands to encourage biodiversity to thrive. John Blue, the company’s Land Director, said: “Genesis Homes is committed to making all our developments as environmentally friendly as possible, and a main aim of ours is to enhance the biodiversity and ecology of the local area. “We are delighted to be able to create a distinctive, characterful housing development which is sensitively embedded within the existing landscape, and preserve the beautiful surrounding wooded areas.” The development will be located close to the proposed St Cuthbert’s Garden Village, an ambitious housing and economic development scheme planned to regenerate the local area. The St Cuthbert’s development, identified as one of 14 garden villages across the UK by the Government, proposes to construct thousands of new homes, create new employment opportunities, build new community facilities and improve local transport links. The Woodlands development will complement the garden village and provide a further boost for the community. John said: “There is a strong vision for regeneration in the area and plans to create a new market area locally, and we are excited to form a positive relationship with the nearby development to boost the community even further.” Thirty of the homes on the Woodlands development have been designated affordable housing to help local people onto the property ladder. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Nationwide housing provider, Guinness Homes, part of The Guinness Partnership, has launched Phase One of its new Signal Park development in Tolworth, Kingston-upon-Thames. At the recent launch event, prospective buyers had the chance to see how the development will look once completed. Viewers also had the opportunity to make reservations for the first time. The scheme comprises 78 one-bedroom apartments, 103 two-bedroom apartments, six two-bedroom duplex apartments and 24 three-bedroom apartments, with prices starting from £87,500 on a 25 per cent share (£350,000). By purchasing a percentage of the property between 25 per cent and 75 per cent and renting the remainder from the landlord, shared ownership opens the door to people who might not otherwise be able to access a property on the open market. Situated within a three-minute walk of Tolworth station, Signal Park is strategically located amongst nearby amenities. From Hollywood Bowl, M&S and Surbiton Raceway to Go Ape, Chessington World of Adventures and Hampton Court Palace, its central location is ideal for young people and families. The line leading through Tolworth station takes travellers directly to Waterloo in 31 minutes, stopping at Clapham Junction and Vauxhall beforehand for convenient access into the city. Hellyn Fairbrother, London and South East Regional Sales Manager at Guinness Homes said: “The launch of Signal Park Phase One was a great success, with many local residents and renters coming to see what Guinness has to offer at this desirable South London location. “These Shared Ownership homes at Signal Park provide a more affordable route onto the property ladder, and we are looking forward to the show apartments being ready to view in the spring next year.” For more information visit https://www.guinnesshomes.co.uk/find-a-home/signal-park-tolworth/. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Birmingham City Council is investing £27 million to retrofit 300 homes. An event has been announced which aims to help local retrofit professionals, community representatives and local government teams accelerate the progress of energy efficiency retrofit from strategic planning to successful delivery. The online presentations, discussion and networking from 6-8 December 2022 will help attendees develop their understanding of how the UK’s second city, social housing, community partners and supply chain can work together with residents to create better homes, with reduced energy use, to alleviate fuel poverty and support residents through the energy crisis and beyond. Speakers will be exploring three key themes, focused on scaling up retrofit across Birmingham through collaboration to provide continuous support and consistent delivery. “Retrofitting homes across Birmingham is of course a key part of our route to zero carbon emissions but also a huge opportunity to create green jobs and tackle fuel poverty across the city. So we’re delighted to be working with Low Carbon Homes to deliver this summit. This is a great opportunity to engage with retrofit experts, community representatives and other councils and discuss how we can progress retrofit activity across the region,” said Birmingham City Council Leader Cllr Ian Ward, who is opening the event. Day 1 covers how to design and plan to provide long-term continuity for the market through planning and policy consistency; while Day 2 will explore ways to ensure the continuity of retrofit delivery by creating a conducive environment to motivate businesses, education providers and individuals to invest in training, workforce and operations. On Day 3, presenters will share how retrofit success for Birmingham includes the provision of long-term aftercare to ensure residents benefit not only from living in better homes, but that the interventions have long-lasting well-being, economic and societal impact. Organisers Low Carbon Homes say that the event is an opportunity for retrofit stakeholders across Birmingham to meet the peers and colleagues they need to collaborate with to achieve local and national objectives for retrofit and Net Zero. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Plans to redevelop the northeast part of the Grahame Park Estate in Colindale and deliver 505 new homes passed at a Housing and Growth committee meeting in Hendon Town Hall last night 16 November. Barnet Homes will work as the agent for the council and will be replacing the existing 157 homes in this part of the estate and, by bringing this work forward, could save up to £650k in maintenance. Using a £22.4m Greater London Authority grant, the scheme will deliver 50:50 affordable housing including social rent, London living rent which will work towards the 1,000 homes manifesto pledge, shared ownership, build to rent plus two new commercial spaces. Cllr Ross Houston, Barnet Council’s Housing and Growth committee chair, said: “The residents of Grahame Park have been asking for this development to be done for a long time and so we’re very pleased to be able to bring this forward. “Not only are we maintaining our pledge to work towards well-built affordable rental housing, but this work will also lead to a cost saving of over six hundred thousand pounds. “We care about our people in Barnet. We care how they live and how their homes are built so we can also make great spaces while ensuring money saved goes back to residents and not to developers.” The grant for £22.4m comes from the Greater London Authority’s Affordable Housing Programme 2021-26 and has been formally approved. Community engagement has started, with an early focus on the most affected residents, and feedback has been incorporated into the design. The future engagement strategy for the next stage of work includes opportunities for designing together with residents where possible. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals