Work has started on the transformation of brownfield land in Telford to provide much needed new housing thanks to a £4.43m investment by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
The regeneration project involves building 36 new homes on a seven-acre plot of vacant land between Pool Hill Road and Doseley Road in Dawley.
The WMCA’s investment in the scheme is the latest to be made from its nationally acclaimed housing and regeneration programme which, in partnership with industry, is providing new homes, jobs and commercial spaces, helping to support the region’s post-Covid economic recovery.
The need to divert a culvert running across the land and the presence of old mine shafts had made it financially difficult for private developers to take the site on. The WMCA’s investment has, however, enabled developer Central & Country to clean up the site and make it suitable for redevelopment.
As part of the investment, 20% of the new homes will be classed as affordable using the WMCA own regional definition, which is linked to real world local wages rather than surrounding property prices.
Cllr Ian Courts, WMCA portfolio holder for housing, property and land and leader of Solihull Council, said: “Pool Hill is just one of dozens of vacant plots or former industrial sites we are helping to transform across the region to provide energy efficient and affordable homes for local people.
“It’s another example of why the WMCA has rightly earned a reputation as a national leader in brownfield regeneration and shows how the WMCA is using the money it has secured from Government to unlock schemes and drive forward development on locally agreed priority sites.”
Nick Laight, director of Central and Country, added: “We constructed the site adjacent to this project five years ago and are well placed to understand the challenges in the brownfield reclamation costs of this site.
“Sometimes not being naïve can be a detriment in getting the project up and running as the challenges are usually worse than predicted. With spiralling build costs this project would not have come forward without the partnering and co-operation we have received from Telford Council, Homes England, WMCA and Frontier Development Capital.
“Together we have enabled the project to be acceptable as a commercial enterprise and to enable a local firm such as ourselves to commit to bringing 36 bespoke homes forward.”
The WMCA’s commitment to invest in the scheme is not the first housing development in Telford to receive backing.
Three years ago, it invested £460,000 to help build 46 new homes on Southwater Way, close to Telford town centre, with 11 of the properties made available at affordable rents.
Cllr Richard Overton, Telford & Wrekin Council deputy leader and cabinet member for homes & enforcement, said: “It’s great to see further investment from the WMCA in housing delivery in Telford. We continue to work collaboratively with the WMCA to optimise funding opportunities for the borough, with a particular focus on brownfield land.”
Access to the WMCA funding was provided by the Property Team at Frontier Development Capital Ltd (FDC). FDC continues to work closely with property developers to arrange investments from the WMCA’s Commercial Investment Fund (CIF) and Residential Investment Fund (RIF).
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