A tenant has been found for a roadside site currently in development in Rushden. Godwin Developments reached a deal with British based retailer Euro Garages Limited as their tenant for the site. The companies have since worked together to amend the design to be sympathetic with the planners and councillors’ aspirations. The updated reserved matters application was submitted to the council in mid-December 2019. These plans will see a new Euro Garages petrol filling station and complimentary coffee operator drive-thru constructed on the site located adjacent to the A6 roundabout on John Clark Way. Matt Chandler, associate director at Godwin Group said: “We are pleased to have secured Euro Garages Limited as our end occupier for our site in Rushden. “Godwin Developments, in conjunction with Euro Garages Limited have worked closely with the council to create a scheme which will complement the surrounding area, whilst also delivering a quality commercial offering. This project is an exciting expansion to Godwin Developments’ growing portfolio in the roadside sector.” Tom Jeremiah, group planning director at Euro Garages Limited added: “We are excited to be working alongside Godwin Developments for the development of this site. Given the deficiency of roadside facilities in this location, we know there is strong demand for such in this area and our proposals will act to fill this gap in the market. Our scheme provides for a bespoke designed petrol filling station and drive-thru coffee shop, which will give motorists a place to rest and relax before continuing their onward journey. “In addition, the development will create employment opportunities to which Euro Garages Limited are committed to resourcing from the local area. Most of our customers are taken from passing traffic but the facilities will also be available to residents, who may like to use our services to purchase small top-up shops or enjoy a coffee.”

The new iteration of the former Galliford Try Partnerships has landed its first contract. Now known as Vistry Partnerships following its acquisition from Vistry Group, the business has won a contract for a £66 million project at the Aylesbury Estate in Southwark. This will see the company build new high quality community spaces in the area, including a brand new public library, health and early years’ facilities plus commercial space as well as more than 120 new homes for rent. A new civic square has been designed to serve as a central hub for the neighbourhood, with improved public space and a water feature acting as its centrepiece. Notting Hill Genesis has appointed Vistry Partnerships to deliver the project, with work expected to begin in early 2020. Ken Baikie, interim director of regeneration (Aylesbury Estate) for Notting Hill Genesis, said: “We are pleased to appoint Vistry Partnerships to build the new homes and community facilities on Plot 18, the next phase of the Aylesbury regeneration to be built. Their experience and high standards will help to ensure that this neighbourhood hub will be a real asset for the community.” Ray Toft, managing director for Vistry Partnerships, London, added: “Our business has an excellent track record in delivering mixed-use regeneration schemes, combining the delivery of high quality community facilities, alongside much needed affordable housing throughout London, and we are delighted that Notting Hill Genesis has entrusted us, once again, with delivering this next phase of construction works at their site within the Aylesbury Estate. “We look forward to working with both Notting Hill Genesis and their partner Southwark Council to support the ongoing regeneration within this area.”

A development project has been launched at the former Strand Union Workhouse in Fitzrovia, a site said to have inspired Charles Dicken’s classic novel Oliver Twist. Morgan Sindall Construction has signed a Pre-Contract Services Agreement (PCSA) which will see the company work on the first phase of development, overseeing and enabling the safe excavation and removal of over 2,000 burials at the site. The scheme will see 40 per cent of the existing buildings retained, including the imposing Grade II listed workhouse. New public space and communal gardens, designed to reveal and enhance the historic character of the listed building, will be created within the heart of Fitzrovia. The contractor will also deliver a new mixed-use development consisting of commercial, healthcare and residential space behind the workhouse. The eight storey building will house 34 residential units in the heart of Fitzrovia, approximately 70 per cent of which will be affordable for social rent and for key workers. The building will provide circa 5,000 square feet of commercial space and healthcare facilities including a new MRI Imaging Suite with six new MRI machines at basement level. Under the first phase of work on the development, Morgan Sindall Construction is delivering the enabling works at the site. The multifaceted works package will see the company support and enable archaeologists to safely excavate and remove thousands of bodies buried at the site, linked to its historic use as a local cemetery and workhouse. During these works, three other buildings at the front of the site will be refurbished by another contractor, making collaboration and effective coordination fundamental to the success of both projects. Richard Dobson, area director for Morgan Sindall Construction’s London office, said: “This is a fascinating project in an area of London that has huge cultural resonance on a global scale and it’s our privilege to be working alongside the expert archaeological team to enable the safe excavation and removal of these precious remains. “This is a delicate and complex operation that will be delivered while works on a number of live projects around the site continue at pace. This requires expert coordination, cross-party collaboration and the experience of working effectively with minimum disruption on major schemes on logistically challenging, tight, urban sites. “This is a challenge our team has the experience and expertise to deliver upon and we look forward to enabling our colleagues to safely secure the historic legacy of the site, while work on the development continues to schedule.” The project for Middlesex Annexe LLP, a subsidiary of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Charity, is part of The Bedford Passage Development, which falls within the Charlotte Street Conservation Area, and is part of the Fitzrovia Area Action Plan. The excavation works are due to start in January 2020. Once the enabling works are completed, works to the main building will commence in 2021.

The ongoing transformation of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter has been boosted with approval for a new £125 million neighbourhood. Developers Galliard Homes and Apsley House Capital are working to redevelop the four-acre AE Harris industrial site into St Paul’s Quarter, creating over 500 jobs in the process. St Paul’s Quarter will comprise 305 apartments – including lofts and duplexes – and circa 100,000 sq ft of commercial space, including affordable business and retail space, across 20 buildings, as well as new public realm. It will be bounded by Newhall Street, Graham Street, Brook Street, James Street and Northwood Street. As part of the work, a new pedestrian street will stretch from Newhall Street into the heart of the Jewellery Quarter, improving access from the city centre. Northwood Street, currently partially closed to the public, will also be opened to pedestrians for the first time in more than 20 years. A new public square will be incorporated, in the centre of the scheme, surrounded by commercial and leisure space at ground level. The scheme will also see two Grade II listed buildings restored to their former glory – 109 Northwood Street and 199 Newhall Street. A further two derelict buildings, 123 and 128 Northwood Street, will also be salvaged and transformed into new homes. Stephen Conway, executive chairman of Galliard Homes, said: “The Jewellery Quarter’s historic buildings give the area its special character. Galliard has a track record of restoring listed buildings across London and we are looking forward to bringing this experience to Birmingham. 123 and 128 Northwood Street have a familiar typology to the Jewellery Quarter, with street frontages concealing rear factory wings. These two buildings reinforce the grain of the area, running north-south. It’s therefore right that we respect their heritage and preserve them, despite their lack of listed status.” Robin Norstrom, a director at Apsley House Capital, added: “This development will be the largest within the Jewellery Quarter Conservation Area. We have invested more than two years in bringing this highly anticipated scheme forward, working with the local community and with the city’s planning officers to create a new gateway to the Jewellery Quarter and an animated hub – not only a place to live and work but also a destination in itself. The scheme will introduce more than a kilometre of street frontages to explore, with the majority of the public spaces being car free. As well as new homes, the scheme’s ground floor commercial space will provide opportunities for up-and-coming independent businesses, whether that’s local heroes or brands new to the city. We are also keen to support jewellers and artists by providing affordable retail and business space.” St Paul’s Quarter is expected to take four years to complete.

Two leading firms in London have joined forces to drive forward an £8 billion development at Thamesmead Waterfront. Property group Peabody and construction firm Lendlease have formed a 50:50 joint venture partnership to work on the scheme. The companies will deliver a minimum of 11,500 homes and make a significant contribution to the continuing economic regeneration of east London and the Thames Estuary. They will work with the community to revitalise the existing Thamesmead town centre, creating new cultural, community and commercial space, along with many new homes. The site, which currently includes 2.5km of river frontage as well as green space and two lakes, will see its full ambition unlocked by the two firms with a new cross-river extension of the Docklands Light Railway to Thamesmead. Peabody Chief Executive Brendan Sarsfield said: “Thamesmead Waterfront represents an historic opportunity to transform an isolated and underutilised riverside location in London. A new DLR crossing from east London would allow this long-term partnership to create a new waterfront district with thousands of new affordable homes and a new leisure, cultural and commercial offer for the town, for London, and for the wider Thames Estuary. This would unlock huge benefits for existing and new communities, boosting the economy and providing huge opportunities for London and the UK. “The Waterfront, alongside Peabody’s regeneration of the wider area, can help Thameshead become a sustainable new town – offering all of the benefits of urban living with unparalleled access to green open spaces by the Thames.” Neil Martin, CEO at Lendlease, Europe, added: “The breadth of opportunity and economic potential that this scheme offers Thamesmead and London, is enormous. Thousands of new homes and jobs can be created, but key to its successful delivery is improving connections for existing and current residents and businesses. Doing so would open up this area of London to new audiences and improve the opportunities for those already living there. “Improving transport links is a vital part of the long-term regeneration of the area, as it will bring those new homes within reach of the heart of London and help us deliver one of the most exciting new places to live in the capital.”