Catalyst has started work on a 100% affordable, 19-home development in High Wycombe. The housing association appointed Jarvis Contracting as construction partner for the Sidney House project late last year, and they have recently started construction.
Built on the site of a disused sheltered housing facility that was closed in 2004, the 19 new homes will provide two bedroom houses at an affordable rent to local people living in Wycombe.
Jarvis took possession of the site in July 2019 to start demolition and site clearance works. Construction will continue this year, with the new homes scheduled to complete in late 2020. The construction contractors were appointed through Catalyst’s £900m contractor framework, which was finalised late 2018. The framework is OJEU compliant, and any housing association or public sector body can access it for a fee.
Mark Doyle, CEO of Jarvis Contracting said: “The opportunity to take an underutilised site and create an attractive environment with high quality new homes for Catalyst is something we’re really looking forward to at Jarvis. We enjoy a reputation for successfully delivering exactly this type of project and, by working closely with the Catalyst team, we’ll build something that will complement the existing location, whilst providing much needed new homes for the area.”
Phil Jenkins, Group Development Director at Catalyst commented: “Although relatively small, our Sidney House scheme is an important part of our ambition to deliver genuinely affordable homes across the south east. It’s our first development in Wycombe since 2015 and we are really pleased to be back working in the district. As always, I’m excited to see this development take shape in 2020 and can’t wait to welcome our new customers to their new homes.”
The site is part of Catalyst’s ambition to develop up to 1,300 quality new homes each year through land acquisition, regeneration and in partnership with other landowners and developers.
