£2.5bn jv to create 2,000 Warwickshire homes

Warwickshire County Council’s development arm has formed a joint venture with Countryside Partnerships. The union will create 2,000 new homes across the county. Develop Warwickshire will help bring sites forward over the next 30 years, with three being taken forward for development within the next 12 months. The partnership, which will complete £2.5bn of developments, is part of the county’s drive to realise the potential of its development sites, commercial buildings and mineral rights sustainably. Peter Butlin (pictured, centre), deputy leader of Warwickshire County Council and portfolio holder for finance and property, said the creation of Develop Warwickshire was a major step forward for Warwickshire. He said: “This partnership is key to our ambition to make the most of the county’s assets for the benefit of local people and local communities. Unlocking our sites to create sustainable, high-quality homes and communities is a key ambition for the council, and Develop Warwickshire will play a major role in this. “We went through an 18-month procurement exercise to ensure we attracted a partner with the same ambitions and objectives. Homes created by Develop Warwickshire will be timber-framed and will include features such as solar panels, putting sustainability at the heart of these sites.” Stephen Teagle, chief executive at Countryside Partnerships, said: “This new joint venture with Warwickshire County Council enables us to deliver high-quality, mixed-tenure homes at scale across the region. By combining the skills of our group with the council’s ambitions to unlock and regenerate its own land assets, we can deliver true regeneration and maximise the benefits for local communities.” The first three sites to be brought forward will be in Nuneaton, Warton and Water Orton, which are all allocated in local plans or have achieved planning consent. All the developments will comply with local authority affordable homes criteria. The Top Farm scheme at Nuneaton has outline consent for 1,700 homes. Public consultation will begin next month on the development of 54 homes in Water Orton, and a reserved matters application has been submitted to North Warwickshire Borough Council to build 71 homes at Warton. To send feedback, e-mail akanksha.soni@eg.co.uk or tweet @EGPropertyNews Image © Advent Communications View residential planning applications in Warwickshire >>