Montreaux Homes, the home counties division of Montreaux Group, has completed the acquisition of a site in the Berkshire village of Binfield that will deliver a boutique development of 21 new homes. Full planning consent is already in place to build 15 homes for private sale and six affordable homes, boosting the supply in this sought-after location.

Construction on the London Road site is due to start imminently, transforming an area that is mostly derelict land into a vibrant new community. The luxury development will offer homes for a range of buyers, and the build is expected to take 18 months to complete.

James Rowntree, Managing Director of Montreaux Homes, said: “We are delighted to conclude our purchase of this site so that we can deliver this small and exclusive collection of new homes. Our plans will create an attractive and peaceful new community that makes the most of its setting with surrounding woodland. The properties will come in a range of sizes and layouts to suit different incomes and affordability. We look forward to welcoming the first new residents towards the middle of 2023.”

Montreaux is making every effort to enhance the green credentials of the new homes by including a range of energy saving features. Air source heat pumps and energy efficient appliances to keep utility bills low for residents are planned for the site, as well as further sustainable solutions. Electric car charging infrastructure will be installed for all homes.

Located in the historic parish of Binfield, the new development will offer an ideal balance between village life and town living, with easy access to the countryside and a good range of essential amenities. The towns of Bracknell, Wokingham, and Reading are just a short drive while excellent rail connections from either Bracknell or Wokingham put Central London less than an hour’s journey away. Residents will enjoy a great quality of life with a fantastic choice of leisure, sporting, and entertainment opportunities in the local area. Highlights include outstanding golf clubs such as Wentworth, exploring Swinley Forest by bike or on foot, and enjoying a day at the races at Ascot Racecourse.

Richard Rowsell, Land Director at Montreaux Homes, said: “The site is at a key location on London Road as part of the sensitively designed extension to the edge of Binfield, where residents can experience an excellent lifestyle. The development typifies the style of high-quality development that Montreaux creates, building inspiring new places for the long term. Montreaux has a strong track record of development across the home counties, and we are actively seeking to purchase further land in the area.”

Property & Development Magazine | The Home of Residential Sector News

Barnet Council Leader Cllr Barry Rawlings led a visit with project partners in Hendon to celebrate work starting on an innovative, co-designed housing scheme delivering 217 new affordable homes, including 75 extra-care homes.

As part of the project, Barnet Council has entered into a partnership with Sage Homes, to ensure the whole scheme was designated as affordable. Sage Homes invested over £46m in the scheme and worked with the council to jointly secure £7m of GLA grant.

The affordable homes scheme was designed in collaboration with residents, neighbours and local community organisations, who were consulted throughout the process and central to the agreed design.

This process led to a design to enhance the elements of the estate that residents like and improve the aspects they didn’t like. As a result, the buildings have been arranged to ensure the open, park-like character of the estate is retained and new amenities and community spaces will be introduced.

“The Fosters Estate is one part of Barnet borough’s ambitious housing delivery programme – the largest in the capital. We are building for and with our residents, respectful of our communities and proud of our heritage.

“To achieve this, we know we must work in partnership with residents, whether that’s on community-led regeneration, or co-design of local services, to deliver new affordable homes, new facilities, public spaces and places to be enjoyed by all,” said Cllr Barry Rawlings, Leader of Barnet Council.

“We’re delighted to be working with Barnet Council, the GLA and Sage Homes and Hill to be delivering much-needed high quality homes in Barnet.

“We have worked closely with existing residents on the estate to co-design the new homes, strengthening the community ties and enhancing the surrounding areas. This project further strengthens our home-building credentials,” added Tim Mulvenna, CEO of The Barnet Group.

Under the partnership, Barnet Homes will manage 60 homes at London Affordable Rent on the council’s behalf for people on the borough’s waiting list and continue to manage the entire estate.

Sage Homes will sell the remaining 82 shared ownership homes to part-rent part-buy customers in the local area who cannot afford to buy on the open market. The council is also developing 75 extra care homes on the site of the old Cheshir House.

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Vistry Group has released the first homes for sale at its new Willow Woods development in Ely. The housebuilder will be delivering a total of 258 homes under its Linden Homes brand at the development, off Lynn Road, as well as providing a new ECB-approved cricket pitch and pavilion.

The new homes will become part of the wider Orchards Green project which is planned to bring 1,200 properties and a wide range of community facilities to North Ely.

The housebuilder welcomed interested house-hunters to nearby Brampton Park to mark the launch of the homes onto the market, where visitors were able to explore the show home, enjoy afternoon tea in the garden, and find out more about theses new homes.

Willow Woods will consist of 212 two, three, four and five-bedroom homes for private sale and 46 properties that will be available for local people through affordable rent or shared ownership.

The first homes at Ely development for sale include a choice of two and three-bedroom semi-detached houses and four-bedroom detached properties, with a sales centre now open on site.

Laura Thomas, sales manager at Willow Woods, said: “We are already seeing a great deal of interest in our new Willow Woods location, where the first homes have now been released onto the market.

“We will be building a mix of beautifully designed properties, including two to five-bedroom houses and two-bedroom apartments, that will help meet local housing demand and provide house-hunters at all stages of the property ladder with the chance to live in a high-quality home.

“The affordable homes provided will help local families and give them the opportunity to live in a modern, energy-efficient property, as well as being part of an exciting new community that’s ideally located on the edge of Ely.”

A selection of two, three and four-bedroom properties are the first homes available to buy at Willow Woods, with prices starting at £295,000.

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Catalyst and development partner The Hill Group have submitted a hybrid planning application to Haringey Council for a mixed-use development on a site adjacent to St Ann’s Hospital in South Tottenham.

When approved, the redevelopment will include up to 995 new homes, 60% of which will be affordable – helping to deliver much-needed housing in the area.

The Haringey development site will also provide community-led housing, new and enhanced green spaces, shops, and other commercial uses, including affordable workspaces, while retaining and restoring several historic hospital buildings.

The former St Ann’s Hospital site was originally purchased by the Mayor of London using some of his £250m Land Fund to acquire land to deliver more affordable homes for Londoners. Catalyst was selected by the Mayor to develop the site in late 2020.

Catalyst and Hill submitted a planning application for the scheme to Haringey Council on 6 July. The submission followed more than a year of consultation with the local community, which included a festival that was attended by more than 300 people.

The hybrid application contains detailed plans for 239 homes within the first phase at the north west of the site, with outline plans for an additional 756 homes over future phases. While the current masterplan is for 971 homes, the planning application is for up to 995 homes, as future phases are yet to be designed in detail.

Catalyst and Hill are focusing on making the new neighbourhood sustainable and eco-friendly, with an emphasis on green spaces for residents. The existing Peace Garden at the heart of the site will be trebled in size to include new public realm areas, play space, and further green space; and a network of new green spaces will be created around the existing trees.

There will be a mix of tenures on the site, including private sale, London Affordable Rent, London Living Rent, and Shared Ownership. The new neighbourhood will be completely tenure-blind – meaning there will no discernible difference between the design of the private-sale and affordable homes from the outside.

When the plans are approved, Catalyst and Hill plan to start work on the first phase of the development in Spring 2023, and future phases of the development will likely be consulted on later that year.

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Construction work is nearing completion at Ashberry Homes’ Royal Retreat development in Bicester, where there are now only three properties yet to be sold.

The housebuilder is delivering 123 new homes at the site off Vendee Drive, including 86 houses for private sale and 37 affordable homes for rent or shared ownership. The final homes at the development, which is part of the wider Kingsmere neighbourhood taking shape on the south-western edge of the town, are due to be completed in October.

Angela Nurse, Sales Manager for Ashberry Homes, said: “Royal Retreat has delivered a range of high-quality homes to meet the high demand for new housing in Oxfordshire. The development has also appealed to buyers from London seeking better value for money and a better quality of life.

“While the development is situated in an attractive semi-rural location, it is conveniently located just a mile from Bicester town centre. It also offers good transport links to the capital, with the nearby Bicester Village railway station providing regular services to Marylebone in around 45 minutes.

“Although there are now only three homes still available for sale, the remaining properties include a range of house sizes and designs, from three-bedroom terraced homes to spacious four-bedroom detached family houses.

“We look forward to overseeing the final stages of construction work at Royal Retreat, where a thriving community has already been established.”

There is currently a selection of three and four-bedroom homes available at Royal Retreat. The last three-bed, The Heather, is priced at £395,000 and is available with Help to Buy.

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The picturesque Cathedral city of Winchester saw house prices rise to £507,658 in March 2022, up by 14.7% since March 2021. For homebuyers who aspire to live within easy distance of this thriving regional hotspot of Winchester, St Arthur Homes has just launched its spectacular new Shared Ownership show home at Whiteley Meadows. With the first phase of homes at Whiteley Meadows proving incredibly popular, purchasers looking to secure one of the new two and three-bedroom houses in this latest phase, should arrange a visit to the new show home as soon as possible.

Nestled between the Hampshire villages of Whiteley and Botley, buyers at Whiteley Meadows can enjoy easy access to Winchester, Portsmouth and Southampton, all less than a 30-minute drive away. In addition to exceptional transport connections, buyers at Whiteley Meadows can take full advantage of a range of shops and leisure amenities available locally, as well as many stunning green spaces to explore. Set across multiple phases, Whiteley Meadows is set to form an attractive new community, complete with more than 3,000 new homes, alongside new schools, nurseries, a care home, a community centre and retail outlets.

Each Shared Ownership home at Whiteley Meadows has been thoughtfully designed to provide unbeatable quality. All of the two and three-bedroom houses offer spacious and flexible interior layouts perfect for relaxing, entertaining or days when working from home. Stylish kitchens come complete with a range of high-quality integrated Indesit appliances, whilst bathrooms enjoy sleek white sanitaryware and Porcelonosa floor and wall tiling. All houses enjoy a private garden and the added benefit of having two allocated parking spaces. Some homes also benefit from the added convenience of a garage.

Whiteley Meadows is ideally positioned to take advantage of both the idyllic Hampshire countryside and the range of amenities located in Winchester, Southampton and Portsmouth. For those keen to explore a little further afield, West Quay Shopping Centre in Southampton and Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth are both around 30-minutes away by car. For those favouring the wonders of the great outdoors, Curbridge Nature Reserve is just a 10-minute walk away and provides stunning riverside walks through ancient oak woodland. Residents can also enjoy the range of gym facilities and fitness classes available at The Meadowside Leisure Centre.

Commuters can enjoy exceptional travel connections from Whiteley Meadows. Positioned just off the A3051, the homes enjoy easy access to the M27 motorway from which the M25 provides easy access around London. For those driving to Portsmouth and Southampton, the A27 is also nearby. Alternatively, for those preferring to travel by train, Whitely Meadows is a little over a mile away from Botley train station providing regular services to Cosham, Portsmouth and Southampton in around half an hour.

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Platform Housing Group, the largest landlord in the Midlands, is celebrating a shortlisting at the upcoming Midlands Residential Property Awards for its scheme in the Peak District National Park.

The site at Colonel Wright Close in Bakewell was finished last summer after some 10 years of hard work by the group and its partners in the planning and local authorities.

One of a very small number of affordable schemes in the area, the development of 30 homes was completed using stone from the local quarry to sit in keeping with the beautiful natural area. 

Platform are one of Homes England’s strategic partners and the project is viewed as a great example of what can be achieved by the housing sector.

“Well done to Platform and its partners for delivering a truly fantastic scheme. It’s a visually stunning scheme delivering high quality housing in an area of outstanding beauty and with high demand for affordable housing. This is a great result for the local community,” said Tom Hawley, Head of Affordable Housing at Homes England.

Local residents have been delighted with the results, enabling them to afford to stay in the town where they grew up, which saw one of the highest rises in house prices in the UK during the last two years.

“We’ve got specific purposes to conserve the area, but we also have a duty to look after our communities. With Colonel Wright Close, we’ve formed some really strong partnerships and even though we have different agendas, in terms of the constraints we’ve got, this is a fantastic achievement,” added Brian Taylor, head of planning at the Peak District National Park Authority.

The developer for the scheme was Lindum Group. A spokesperson said: “The scheme took more than a decade to come to fruition and the nomination is recognition of the hard work and dedication by our client, Platform Housing. A lot of care and attention was put into ensuring the homes were built to maintain the look of the area and our construction team worked with local planners to agree material selections. This involved producing sample panels of stonework and render to prove the quality of the products. We also liaised with the local quarry to ensure stone supplies would be readily available.  The final result is a development of much-needed homes in a beautiful part of the country and it would be fantastic if the scheme was crowned winner on the night. “

“This just shows how a small site can have a huge impact on the area and the community. To have such a beautiful scheme that provides much needed affordable housing in the town makes us very proud. I’d like to thank all the partners that worked so hard over a long period of time to help achieve this,” concluded Group Chief Executive at Platform Elizabeth Froude.

The awards take place on June 23^rd at the Eastside Rooms in Birmingham where Platform has also been shortlisted for the Social Housing Award.

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Work at Bellway’s Harvard Place development in Earls Colne is nearing the final stages, with some of the final homes now on sale. All but 12 of the 54 homes being built for sale at the site have been purchased since the first properties were released onto the market in November 2020.

The development, off Station Road, was named in honour of the Harvard Warbird aircraft, a former Second World War RAF pilot trainer aircraft which is now used by nearby Earls Colne Airfield to provide flying experiences.

Bellway is delivering a total of 90 homes at Harvard Place, including 36 homes provided as affordable housing, made available for local people through shared ownership or rent. Construction work is progressing well and is expected to conclude at the end of this year.

Jenny Walker, Sales Director for Bellway Essex, said: “We’re now getting to the final chances to buy a new-build home at Harvard Place. Residents who’ve already moved here love the relative privacy of this desirable location, tucked away in the countryside and surrounded by a woodland border, yet within walking distance of the amenities offered in the picturesque village of Earls Colne and with Hyperoptic and BT broadband to all homes.

“Although our two and three-bedroom properties have now been sold, we still have a number of four-bedroom properties available – perfect for families and those who may benefit from extra rooms – which all come with a garage. The three-bedroom showhome will be released for sale later in the year. We also have a choice of helpful schemes available to make moving easier and more straightforward for customers with a property to sell.”

Bellway’s Part Exchange and Express Mover schemes are both available at Harvard Place. Part Exchange sees Bellway buy the customer’s current home, which means they have no estate agent fees to pay and can stay in their old place until their new one is ready to move into, depending on the build stage.

With Express Mover, meanwhile, Bellway will work with an estate agent to sell the customer’s home as quickly as possible – and also pick up the agent’s fee.

Jenny added: “Anybody who may be interested in finding their new home at Harvard Place is encouraged to get in touch with the sales team at the earliest opportunity, as we look to bring to a close what has been a well-considered and valuable addition to available housing in this area.”

Alongside providing new homes, Bellway is investing more than £530,000 in the local and economy and infrastructure projects, including £379,151 for local education, £85,118 towards sports facilities at Earls Colne Recreation Club, £57,169 towards local play spaces, £10,000 towards healthcare and £2,701 for allotments.”

There’s currently a choice of four-bedroom houses available to reserve at Harvard Place, with prices starting from £474,995.

Property & Development Magazine | The Home of Residential Sector News

The first residents have been handed the keys to their new homes at Ashberry Homes’ Saxon Heath development in Bury St Edmunds.

Ashberry Homes is providing a total of 132 homes at the development, off Marham Parkway, comprising 100 homes for private sale and 32 homes allocated as affordable housing for local people. With work on site progressing well, multiple homes have now been completed and occupied, with more set to move in later this month.

The first homes were released for sale online in August last year, and more than a quarter of the private homes being built have already been sold off plan. Two showhomes – a three-bedroom Orchid house type and a four-bedroom Lisianthus – were unveiled when the site opened to the public in November.

Saxon Heath forms part of a wider new neighbourhood at Marham Park, with approximately 1,000 new homes being delivered by a consortium of housebuilders.

Emma Hawkins, Sales Manager for Ashberry Homes Essex, said: “We are delighted to be able to welcome our first residents into their new homes at Saxon Heath. This marks the beginning of a new community which will extend the existing new neighbourhood at Marham Park.

“Saxon Heath enjoys a desirable location within Marham Park, situated directly next to the golf course which neighbours the development, and provides a peaceful backdrop to the new homes.

“The attractive Suffolk countryside is on the doorstep, while Bury St Edmunds town centre, with its historic cathedral and award-winning Abbey Gardens, is just over two miles from home. The development is also well situated for commuters with the A14 close by for road links to Cambridge and Ipswich.

“We’ve already sold 34 homes here with levels of interest still running high. With our first residents settled in, we are looking forward to welcoming more residents into their new homes as construction progresses further.”

There’s currently a range of two, three and four-bedroom houses available to reserve at Saxon Heath, with prices starting from £274,995.

Property & Development Magazine | The Home of Residential Sector News

A major redevelopment project forming part of the transformation of Bristol dockyard reached a key milestone on May 12^th with the topping out of McArthur’s Yard. The development is being delivered by The Guinness Partnership in collaboration with The Hill Group to create 142 new homes of which 50% will be affordable, on brownfield land that had stood derelict for over 20 years.

Guinness acquired the site after successfully securing planning permission and subsequently appointed The Hill Group as their delivery partner. Hill has a strong track record in major urban redevelopment projects having delivered significant schemes across London and the South East.

Present to mark the occasion were Ben Cook – Development Director, Ryan Hosken – Head of Development Delivery (South), Craig Macdonald, Head of new Business and Bob Fish, Senior Development Manager from Guinness together with Andy Fancy, Regional Managing Director, Allan O’Brien, Deputy Regional Director, Mark O’Neill, Project Manager and Patrick Connolly, Technical Manager all from Hill.

Ben Cook, Development Director – South at The Guinness Partnership comments: “Today’s event marks a key moment in the regeneration of this important site and signals the excellent progress being made on the project. The topping out of McArthur’s Yard brings us another step closer to delivering new homes for the people of Bristol, and a new waterfront development that will enhance this important part of the city.”

Andy Fancy, Regional Managing Director for Hill, said: “It is vital to unlock the value of brownfield sites to deliver much-needed housing and revitalise key urban areas. Here at McArthur’s Yard, we have been working with Guinness to revitalise a long derelict site, applying our expertise and know-how to create what will be a major new district on the Bristol waterfront. We are proud to have already reached the topping out phase of the project as the scheme takes shape.”

Hill broke ground at McArthur’s Yard at the end of 2021 and the development is scheduled to complete in Summer 2024. The development will provide a range of one, two and three-bedroom homes for shared ownership, market sale and social rent as well as commercial space.

McArthur’s Yard includes a number of important sustainable and lifestyle features, including cycle spaces and electric car charging points. McArthur’s Yard also generates 20% of its energy via renewables.

The development will also contribute significant social value towards the local community over the course of the project by bringing employment and supply chain opportunities to the area. Once completed, new street-level commercial units will provide local employment as well as increased amenities for the community.

Property & Development Magazine | The Home of Residential Sector News