countryside

Countryside and Sovereign joint-venture partnership to acquire 365-acre Lotmead Farm in Swindon to deliver up to 2,500 homes

Countryside, the UK’s leading mixed-tenure developer and Sovereign Housing Association, a leading housing provider in southern England, have exchanged contracts with Ainscough Strategic Land in the acquisition of Lotmead Farm, a 365-acre site in Swindon. Outline planning permission for the delivery of an up to 2,500-home scheme across distinctive character

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Issue 323 : Dec 2024

countryside

Countryside and Sovereign joint-venture partnership to acquire 365-acre Lotmead Farm in Swindon to deliver up to 2,500 homes

Countryside, the UK’s leading mixed-tenure developer and Sovereign Housing Association, a leading housing provider in southern England, have exchanged contracts with Ainscough Strategic Land in the acquisition of Lotmead Farm, a 365-acre site in Swindon. Outline planning permission for the delivery of an up to 2,500-home scheme across distinctive character areas creating individually designed neighbourhoods has already been secured by promoter Ainscough Strategic Land. 30% of the scheme will be genuinely affordable through the S106 commitment together with additional units which will be delivered specifically for Sovereign. Up to 400 homes will be delivered for private rented accommodation. Situated within the Swindon New Eastern Villages urban extension (NEV) development area, Lotmead Farm will focus on strong place making and will include large areas of open space together with the creation of two primary schools, local centres, nurseries, retail and commercial space. The neighbourhoods will also feature 1.76ha of play areas, a sports hub and pavilion, 1.76ha allotments and 62.29ha green space. Avison Young oversaw the sale of the land while the promoters were Ainscough Strategic Land who secured the outline planning permission. Iain McPherson, Group Chief Executive, Countryside, commented: “This is a landmark deal for us as we continue our rapid growth in the South West and we are delighted to be working in a strategic joint-venture partnership with Sovereign on delivering a distinctive, diverse and sustainable community.  “At Countryside, we are proud of our track-record in delivering sensitively designed mixed-tenure developments that reflect our commitment to sustainability. It has been a pleasure to work in partnership with Sovereign who similarly put place-making and the environment at the centre of their approach. Together we are creating a fantastic new place with an abundance of open space and green infrastructure. Tom Titherington, Chief Investment and Development Officer at Sovereign Housing Association said: “The development in Lotmead fits perfectly with our strategy of working with other like-minded developers to create delightful new places where we know that the properties, we provide to our customers will be fit for the future. Here we are able to increase the amount of affordable new homes over and above the section106 by nearly 50% through utilising the Homes England Partnership funds.” “It has been a pleasure to work with Countryside as we looked together at tenure mix, urban design and specification. This a growing part of the country and an area of high demand for all forms of housing and Swindon Borough Council has been and continue to be supportive of the scheme and I am looking forward to it commencing in Winter 2022.” Gordon Isgrove, Principal at commercial real estate advisor Avison Young, who led the developer search and has been working with the landowner for the last 18 years, added: “This is a strategically important acquisition by Countryside and Sovereign and a partnership that will deliver a sensitively designed, quality development within an area that already has a strong sense of identity. This is the probably the biggest residential transaction to take place across the UK this year, and certainly the largest in the south west.” Rachael Ainscough, at Ainscough Strategic Land, commented: “Design and place-making were important legacy considerations for our landowner partners and we are pleased that we have found a developer who has put both at the heart of their proposals.  This project has been about teamwork all along and we’re delighted with the outcome.”

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Countryside and DoE sign agreement for Ark Soane mixed-use development in Acton, west London

Countryside, the UK’s leading mixed-tenure developer, has signed an agreement with the Department of Education to deliver Ark Soane, a mixed-use development in Ealing, West London, comprising a new 1,200-pupil secondary school, Ark Soane Academy, and 116 high-quality homes. Following a public procurement process, Countryside has been selected by LocatED, an Arms-Length Body to the Department for Education, to deliver this multi-million-pound development. A large proportion of the new homes is being constructed for the Greater London joint venture between Sigma Capital Group plc, the build-to-rent specialist, and its partner, EQT Exeter, part of global investment firm, EQT, and will be for the private rental market. Once constructed, these 92 apartments will be let and managed by Sigma Capital Group plc, under the ‘Simple Life London’ rental brand. Of the remaining homes in the new development, 21 will be affordable, managed by Network Homes, and three will be for open market sale by Countryside. The new homes will be located close to The Woodlands Park as well as Acton High Street and will enjoy excellent transport links. A sustainable energy centre utilising a Ground Source Heat Pump is also being delivered as part of the development. Countryside has entered into a £52m design and build contract with Jerram Falkus Construction to deliver all construction works associated with the school and residential development. Full planning permission has been secured, and the new Ark Soane Academy is due to open by September 2022. Designed by Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects, the Ark Soane mixed-use development will see the secondary school occupying the first three floors of the 6 to 12-storey building, with 113 apartments located above this, in addition to three separate townhouses on the site. Ark Soane Academy will be connected to a new nearby sixth form college, and will use the surrounding grounds, which include a multi-use games area, sports hall and playgrounds. Daniel King, Managing Director, Partnerships West London & Thames Valley, Countryside, said: “We are excited to get started on this innovative project which will not only deliver a state-of-the-art new school, but also deliver much-needed new homes in Acton. Drawing on over 30 years of experience of working in partnership to deliver major regeneration schemes across the UK, we’re looking forward to bringing Ark Soane Academy to life with the Department for Education, Sigma Capital, EQT Exeter, Network Homes and Jerram Falkus Construction.” Steven Brewster, Acquisitions Director, Sigma Capital Group plc, said: “We’re delighted to be part of this fantastic new development.  It will add 92 homes to our growing portfolio of build-to-rent homes in Greater London with our JV partner, EQT Exeter. We have been working in partnership with Countryside for over 10 years across other parts of the UK, delivering new homes and regenerating local areas. We’re really excited to be bringing the success we’ve experienced in the regions to the London market and look forward to bringing our formula of high-quality homes, matched by award-winning customer care, to renters in Acton.” David Gooch, Network Homes Executive Director for Development, said: “We’re really pleased to be supporting the delivery of much-needed affordable homes at this development which will see a fantastic educational facility provided at Ark Soane. Network will be delivering 12 properties for London Affordable Rent and nine for London Living Rent, an excellent scheme helping people to save for a deposit to buy their own home.” William Jerram, Joint Managing Director, Jerram Falkus Construction Ltd, added: “We are delighted to be working with Countryside and LocatED to deliver this exciting scheme.  We thank our design team, led by Pollard Thomas Edwards, together with Max Fordham, Price and Myers, Montague Evans and Outerspace. To ensure its success, we have worked very closely to redesign the external envelope to comply with the latest ‘B’ regulations” and simultaneously progress the design and programme to deliver the School for the 2022 academic year. It involved a lot of commitment and work at risk, with the reward of starting works in February 2021.”

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