Member Article

11 years, 945 jobs and £120m later: Landmark Stockton housing development comes to a close

Mandale Park, the Stockton housing development, which was the result of a £120m investment into the Thornaby area, is now nearing completion after 11 years.

In 2004, the Mandale Estate had compromised of 578 dwellings, almost half of which were unoccupied, as well as three shops and a community centre

An agreement between Stockton Council, Barratt Homes, Isos Housing and Keepmoat Homes has now seen the area transformed, with 891 new homes built, 641 of which were to buy with 204 available for rent and 46 sold by Isos through shared ownership

The scheme, which was awarded the “Best Housing and Regeneration Initiative” at the 2014 Association of Public Service Excellence Awards, also includes a £1m park, named the Allison Trainer park, in honour of the councillor who was instrumental in bringing the investment to the area.

The development has had a positive impact on the local economy, with the 333 Barratt Homes supporting 945 jobs during construction, 95% of which were filled by local people from a 10-mile radius of Thornaby.

Mike Roberts, Managing Director of Barratt Homes North East, commented: “In 2004, the Mandale Estate was in a dire state of repair, with almost half of the 578 units of residential accommodation in the area unoccupied.

“Since then however, it has been amazing to see the regeneration of not only the estate, but of the area as a whole, not to mention the annual benefit to the local economy of £1m in council tax and over £6m in spend in local shops.

“Now out of the 333 properties we have built, there are only two left to purchase, and there is now a fantastic community of happy homebuyers on the site. We are really proud of what we have managed to achieve and the positive impact this has had on the area.”

Richard Bass, regional managing director for Keepmoat in the North East, said:

Mandale Park is now recognised as one of the most successful mixed tenure regeneration schemes in the country. Before the redevelopment work began, properties on the estate were selling for an average of £13,500.

“Now new homes on the estate resell for prices over £150,000. Keepmoat has built 445 new dwellings as part of the £90m regeneration scheme, many of which were sold during the recession which illustrates just how successful the turnaround has been.”

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Housing, Councillor Mike Smith, added: “We have seen the creation of hundreds of good quality, affordable homes for sale and rent and the area has been transformed into a place our residents can be proud of and which will benefit people living in Thornaby for many generations to come.”