Manchester-based Trafford Housing Trust (THT) and London’s L&Q Developments LLP have extended their ambitious new build programme for the North West with by announcing two new schemes in Cheshire which will be delivered through THT’s house building brand Laurus Homes.
Following on from the ground-breaking at the Laurus Homes Spinning Gate development in Trafford earlier this year, which marked the first project to be delivered by THT’s and L&Q’s landmark 50/50 joint venture, details have been revealed of the first Laurus projects outside of Greater Manchester.
The THT and L&Q partnership will deliver a 166-unit mixed tenure scheme at Station Road in Delamere, Cheshire and a further 18 family homes on the outskirts of Daresbury.
Set to be called ‘Earlsbrook’, the redevelopment of former brownfield Station Road site in Delamere will be made up of 45 two-bed and 121 three to five-bed homes, with 30 per cent of the stock allocated as affordable housing on a shared ownership or rental basis. The full scheme is due for completion in Autumn 2020.
Around ten miles south of the Earlsbrook development will be the Hatters’ Park development, sited at a plot at Manor Farm in Daresbury, Hatters’ Park will feature a mix of three and four-bedroom houses which will be available for sale at full market rate with Help to Buy Equity Loan available. Work on the site is due to start this month, with the homes expected to be completed by July 2018.
In line with THTs’ ‘Profit for Purpose’ business model, the profits from both these Cheshire developments will be used to help fund more affordable housing and community projects across the North West.
Larry Gold, deputy chief executive of Trafford Housing Trust, commented: “When we formed our joint venture with L&Q it was on the basis we would look to rapidly extend our new build programme beyond Greater Manchester and become a major developer within the North West through the Laurus Homes brand.
“By announcing over 180 new homes set to be built in Cheshire, with more in the pipeline for the county and other parts of the North, we are demonstrating that we are well on our way to fulfilling that ambition.
“These developments also demonstrate how working alongside L&Q we aim to accelerate the rate of new housebuilding across the region, but with a wide mix of new homes and tenures, including a high proportion of affordable housing.
“This, combined with our profit for purpose approach and our commitment to creating sustainable communities where people want to live, also gives us a very competitive edge, especially when dealing with local authorities and landowners who are looking for something more than just a top-line profit from a plot.”
The joint venture between the Trust and L&Q, one of the UK’s leading housing associations and one of London’s largest residential developers, was first announced a year ago.
Working together they aim to build 2,000 mixed tenure new homes over the next four years across Greater Manchester, and the wider North West, to help address the region’s housing shortage.
