Twenty large family homes would be built for the Gateshead Jewish community if a public / private partnership that is driving up the quality and choice of homes in the borough is given the go-ahead for its innovative proposal. The scheme is part of a wider initiative to build 58
A North East construction and regeneration specialist is starting work on a supported housing village in Redcar. Vistry Partnerships North East has secured planning consent and agreed contracts for the 75 homes, which will be constructed for Beyond Housing, within the development at Kirkleatham Green. The homes have been specially
The redevelopment of Sunderland’s Civic Centre site into a new residential community, has been given the green light. A planning application for 265 new homes was approved at the City Council’s Planning and Highways (East) Committee meeting last night (11.04.22). North East regeneration and construction specialist Vistry Partnerships will deliver
Construction will soon begin on a new Retirement Village development on Roman Road on the outskirts of Hereford. The site in Holmer will provide 80 one and two-bedroom apartments for affordable rent and is being brought to the city by Vistry Partnerships and Platform Housing Group. Platform, who run a similar development at Harling Court in
Twenty large family homes would be built for the Gateshead Jewish community if a public / private partnership that is driving up the quality and choice of homes in the borough is given the go-ahead for its innovative proposal. The scheme is part of a wider initiative to build 58 affordable properties on a piece of land which has stood empty for almost a decade because redevelopment costs were prohibitive. The Gateshead Regeneration Partnership (GRP) wants to use profits from the construction and private sale of around 50 houses elsewhere in the borough to part fund the project in Hyde Park Street. This would allow the development of the affordable homes on a 2.88 acre site which was, until 2013, occupied by back to back terraced housing. And 20 of these new homes would be specially designed to meet the needs of the town’s Orthodox Jewish Community. GRP comprises Gateshead Council, construction and regeneration specialist Vistry Partnerships North East and affordable housing provider Home Group. The proposal has been developed in conjunction with Homes England, Adler Housing – a registered provider of social housing under the Jewish Community Council of Gateshead – and Agudas Israel Housing Association. A planning application is being prepared for submission which, if approved, would allow the development of two to five bedroomed homes on the site of the former Hookergate School in High Spen, the profits from which would subsidise the Hyde Park Street project. Home Group would offer 38 of these for affordable rent, whilst Adler and Agudas Israel would take the 20 specially designed homes for Jewish residents. In addition to being large enough to accommodate extended families, features in these homes include a room with a sukkah – a retractable roof, and kitchens compatible with observance of Kosher dietary practices including two sinks and sufficient counter space. Chaya Spitz, CEO with Agudas Israel Housing Association, said: “This carefully planned scheme comes after many years of joint working by our colleagues from Gateshead Regeneration Partnership and the local Jewish community. We are delighted to be joining and hopefully enabling it to come to fruition.” Eli Halberstadt, chair of Adler Housing, commented: “We are delighted that the Gateshead Jewish community has the opportunity to provide high quality, bespoke housing which would provide ample living space for families. We are especially pleased to partner with Agudas Israel on this project.” Cllr. Martin Gannon, Leader of Gateshead Council, added: “I would welcome the development of much needed high quality housing in the area and I’m delighted that Gateshead Council is playing a positive role, working with the community on this initiative.” Andrew Rennie Development Director with Vistry Partnerships North East, commented: “It has been a long and complex process to align all the partners involved in the initiative, but it is pleasing to have been able to create an opportunity to meet the diverse housing needs of local people and unlock the potential of this piece of unused land.” Kitson Keen, Director of Development at Home Group, said: “The Gateshead Regeneration Partnership is a great example of collaborative working. And this latest initiative is another example of this. The progress we have made to date gives us absolute confidence that we’ll reach the targets we’ve set to deliver much needed affordable homes in the Gateshead borough.” GRP’s vision is to create around 2,500 new homes on 16 sites across the borough in a £350 million initiative. To date around 450 have been built on eight sites. As well as improving housing quality and choice, the initiative is providing job and training opportunities – a minimum of 25% of which go to local people – and an economic uplift – a quarter of the supply budget is committed to businesses within the borough.
A North East construction and regeneration specialist is starting work on a supported housing village in Redcar. Vistry Partnerships North East has secured planning consent and agreed contracts for the 75 homes, which will be constructed for Beyond Housing, within the development at Kirkleatham Green. The homes have been specially designed for customers with a wide range of support needs, including adults over 55, residents with accessibility requirements and others with learning disabilities. They will include 31 two bedroomed and 14 one bedroomed apartments, six wheelchair accessible two bedroomed bungalows, 12 single bedroomed quarter houses and 12 two bedroomed flats. The aim is to enable people to live independently for longer, by providing appropriate housing, communal facilities and outdoor spaces – with flexible levels of support and care assistance where required. The homes have been designed to be extremely energy efficient, reducing carbon emissions – when compared to a traditional residential unit with a combi gas boiler – by 50%. This has been achieved by the inclusion of Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery, which reclaims heat from extracted air to pre-heat the incoming fresh air, minimum heat loss insulation and Air Source Heat Pump hot water cylinders. The project will bring Vistry Partnerships North East’s recent investment in Teesside to £198 million. Current projects include mixed tenure developments at Bracken Grange, in Middlesbrough – 350 homes – and Kirkleatham Green, Redcar – 375 homes – next to which, the supported housing village will be constructed, and a detailed planning application has been lodged for 385 homes at Summerville Farm, Stockton. Andrew Rennie, Development Director at Vistry Partnerships North East, said: “Our Kirkleatham Green development offers a unique and innovative solution to the housing challenge on Teesside, delivering housing options for all. “Whether people are looking to buy outright, to rent privately or to access supported housing options – such as affordable rent or shared ownership through a registered provider – there have been homes available at Kirkleatham Green. Now, following this planning consent, an additional housing offer is to be added to what is already an inclusive project, furthering our goal to create homes that meet almost every kind of need in the wide and diverse community.” “We share Homes England’s ambition to deliver high quality, large scale housing at pace – whilst also providing jobs and training opportunities which boost local economies. We want to create communities in which people choose to live and work and homes in which they can take pride.” Clare Harrigan, Director of Development at Beyond Housing, said “We are delighted to be continuing our partnership with Vistry on this high-profile scheme which will deliver vital affordable homes with support in Redcar. “At Beyond Housing, we are committed to delivering high quality homes which meet a range of housing choices for our customers and contribute to the prosperity and regeneration of the local communities.” Vistry Partnerships North East is active on 12 construction sites around the region with a gross development value of just under £350 million and has a further four proposed projects currently in the planning process.
The redevelopment of Sunderland’s Civic Centre site into a new residential community, has been given the green light. A planning application for 265 new homes was approved at the City Council’s Planning and Highways (East) Committee meeting last night (11.04.22). North East regeneration and construction specialist Vistry Partnerships will deliver the project which, in addition to the new housing, will provide high quality public open spaces and cycling and pedestrian links, improving access to the city centre. Of particular note is a proposal to recreate Saint George’s Square – bomb damaged during the Second World War and lost to redevelopment in the 60s – with the Grade II listed Saint George’s House as the focal point. The architecture and streetscape will be sensitive to the parkside location and the Ashbrooke Conservation Area. The completed homes will be sold under Vistry’s house building brand Linden Homes and will range from one to four bedroomed homes, with many benefitting from views across Mowbray Park. A complex demolition programme will be undertaken to clear the site ready for the new development. Andrew Rennie, Development Director with Vistry Partnerships North East, said: “We are delighted to have secured approval for this city centre redevelopment to go ahead, which we are confident will play a pivotal part in Sunderland’s regeneration. “We aim to create an attractive new residential quarter that sits comfortably within the surrounding architecture, with a focus on green space that encourages community use. It will be a fantastic new inclusive neighbourhood with its own distinctive character, providing a new housing offer on the edge of Ashbrooke and Mowbray Park whilst benefiting from the close proximity to the city centre.” The civic centre redevelopment is part of a wider plan to build more than 7,000 new homes across the city by 2030. This will ensure that Sunderland has the volume and variety of homes it needs to attract and retain a diverse range of residents. Peter McIntyre, executive director of city development at Sunderland City Council, said: “Having made the move to our new City Hall only a matter of weeks ago, I am delighted to see plans for the former civic centre site given the green light. “Housing on the outskirts of the city centre will deliver a significant boost to traders in the heart of the city, as people living on the doorstep head in to spend their time and money in shops, bars and restaurants. By bookending the city with residential developments – at Riverside Sunderland and the former Civic site – we will boost footfall and hopefully – with it – spend too.” Sunderland City Council is also delivering on ambitions to develop contemporary new city centre homes on the Riverside Sunderland site, and at Northern Spire Park alongside the stunning Northern Spire bridge, as well as driving developments at the seafront and Sunderland South Growth Area (SSGA). The council announced plans to relocate from its current base to Riverside Sunderland in 2019 and work commenced on Sunderland City Hall later that year. The move will enable the council to deliver services from a modern environment, where residents can access a range of services under one roof. Bringing together a range of public sector partners, that will work from the 190,000sq ft office space, city hall is being funded by institutional investor Legal & General, which is also working with developer Landid, to build two speculative offices that will stand on adjacent plots. Vistry Partnerships North East is currently active on 12 construction sites around the region with a gross development value of just under £350 million and four further projects in the planning process. The Sunderland Civic Centre project has been delivered with Lichfields Planning Consultants. Senior Director at Lichfields Newcastle office, Michael Hepburn, said: “This project has been a significant collaborative effort with both the local community and Council officers, providing significant contribution to the vibrancy and vitality of an important sector. Founded in 1962, Lichfields offers a range of planning services including economics, heritage, sustainability, and GIS. Its clients include local authorities and government bodies, as well as developers, landowners and operators in the housing, retail, leisure, commercial, waste and recycling and infrastructure sectors.
Construction will soon begin on a new Retirement Village development on Roman Road on the outskirts of Hereford. The site in Holmer will provide 80 one and two-bedroom apartments for affordable rent and is being brought to the city by Vistry Partnerships and Platform Housing Group. Platform, who run a similar development at Harling Court in Ledbury, will also provide onsite care and support services plus various communal facilities for the residents. Darren Beale, Regional Managing Director at Vistry Partnerships West Midlands said, “We have extensive experience designing and constructing extra care schemes and we’re very pleased to be working in partnership again with Platform Housing. As one of the country’s leading regeneration specialists we recognise the need to support our partners to build homes across all tenures, particularly homes and care services for older people.” Steve Eaves, Director of Regeneration at Platform Housing said, “This is a fantastic partnership that will provide much needed older persons housing in a very popular and strategically important area for our partners at Herefordshire Council. We are also very much looking forward to working with Vistry again. They have a great track record of successfully delivering large schemes with Platform.“ Cllr Ange Tyler, Cabinet member for Housing, regulatory services, and community safety, said: “Providing affordable housing is a key issue for Local Authorities across Britain, and Herefordshire is no different. One of our key priorities is to deliver safe, comfortable and affordable housing, particularly for vulnerable people. We are therefore delighted to be working in partnership with Vistry Partnerships and Platform Housing Group on this project, and look forward to the new Retirement Village taking shape.” Some £19m is being spent on the project which is anticipated to begin in the spring.
