Member Article

Contractor announced for innovative ‘Neighbourhood’ housing development in Salford

Housing association Salix Homes has announced its construction partner to deliver an eco-friendly new housing project in Salford.

Salix Homes, which owns 8,000 homes in Salford, has awarded the contract for its part in the Neighbourhood development to Salford-based Watson Homes, who have now started work on site.

The ambitious project will be a mix of two, three and four-bedroom homes and one and two-bedroom apartments built on two brownfield sites off Kara Street and Liverpool Street in Seedley South.

Salix Homes will work with Watson Homes to build 91 homes of the 157-home development, comprising social housing, homes for affordable rent and properties for Shared Ownership and outright sale.

The announcement of the contractor comes after Salix Homes secured £3.3million from Homes England to help finance the multi-million-pound scheme.

Terry McBride, development manager at Salix Homes, said: “The appointment of the contractor for Neighbourhood and the confirmation of Homes England funding marks the next important milestone for this ambitious scheme, and we can now look forward to seeing our vision for a new era of housing in Salford brought to life.

“Like Salix Homes, Watson Homes is firmly rooted in Salford and has an excellent track record of delivering high quality homes and investing in local areas, so we look forward to working alongside them to deliver this scheme which will provide much-needed new homes and breathe new life into the area.”

Neighbourhood is a partnership project between Salix Homes and developer Step Places, which is responsible for delivering the remaining 66 market-sale properties on the scheme.

It has been purposefully designed to combine innovative architecture and contemporary living to create a vibrant and aspirational community of modern, high-quality and energy efficient homes that will complement the wider regeneration taking place across the city

The innovative design is a modern take on the traditional terrace house, complete with raised terrace gardens for some of the properties. There will be a public green space at the heart of the development, 86 trees planted, and all houses will have cycle storage and electric car charging points.

Watson Homes has a strong track record of working with housing associations to deliver high quality, affordable homes across Greater Manchester, including The Willows, Netherland Street and Melody Gardens in Salford.

Rob Watson, director of Watson Homes, said: “We have always been committed to working with housing association partners to build affordable homes in the places where they are most needed. As a Salford business, we can’t wait to bring this ambitious project to life for Salix Homes, creating a thriving, new community for local people.”

In total, 91 of the properties at Neighbourhood will be shared ownership, affordable rent or social housing, while 66 will be available for market sale.

Salford Council will purchase 25 of the homes for social rent, while a further five properties will go to Inspiring Housing Community Land Trust for a community-led housing model, which aims to support affordable homes for local people.

The 32 Affordable Rent homes will be allocated via Salford Home Search, while the remaining properties will be available via Salix Homes’ affordable home ownership brand - Willo Homes.

Watson Homes started on site this month (September) and it’s expected the development will be complete in summer 2023.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Hayley Collins .