Suffolk council appoints agent to boost housing development
Suffolk County Council has appointed Avison Young to help it bring forward a programme of housing delivery on council-owned sites through disposals, private joint ventures and council partnerships.
The council’s corporate property division has enlisted the agents to help to bring forward a number of schemes of up to 1,300 homes.
It will consider a range of viability options – including bringing in a private sector joint venture partner next year and also working with district and borough councils. It has suggested working with housing associations on small rural sites, as well as councils which hold their own stock, through to large scale development with strategic joint ventures.
Suffolk County Council has appointed Avison Young to help it bring forward a programme of housing delivery on council-owned sites through disposals, private joint ventures and council partnerships.
The council’s corporate property division has enlisted the agents to help to bring forward a number of schemes of up to 1,300 homes.
It will consider a range of viability options – including bringing in a private sector joint venture partner next year and also working with district and borough councils. It has suggested working with housing associations on small rural sites, as well as councils which hold their own stock, through to large scale development with strategic joint ventures.
Last month, the council’s wholly-owned company Concertus Design and Property Consults agreed a joint venture with Derbyshire County Council to divest the property services out of the council.
Suffolk is the third largest landowner in the county and has a mixed-use portfolio including county farms, operational depots and office accommodation. It has identified a number of sites within the portfolio for development for housing and specialist accommodation.
Earlier this year, the council approved a programme to build new capabilities into its current disposal strategy of selling land with or without planning permission.
It will spend £10.9m over the next five years on the programme and has identified 15-20 sites for development. Suffolk will use the funds to gain planning consents and prepare land for disposal, and is working on two major projects and a separate joint venture, which is expected to take 12-18 months to procure.
Suffolk County Council has been one of the most prolific property investors in recent years. Between 2013 and 2019, it agreed the largest number of property transactions, with 26 deals and spend of £373m, according to Radius Data Exchange. The council committed the third largest investment total, behind only Warrington and Spelthorne councils.
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Image © Suffolk Conservatives
