Leading Midlands housing association, Midland Heart, is celebrating gaining planning approval for its third development of affordable housing with Partner,
The 24-home development on Court Farm Lane, Branston, Burton-on-Trent is their first joint venture since agreeing a memorandum of understanding that will see them working together to identify land and build 150 homes a year.
It is also their first joint development for East Staffordshire.
The £3.8m project — approved by East Staffordshire District Council on August 13 — will provide 18 family houses of two and three bedrooms and half a dozen one-bedroom apartments on a 1.3 acre site.
The new homes will be within 200m of Branston centre’s existing services and facilities and close to open public spaces at the award-winning Branston Water Park, which is home to many species of plants and animals, some rare, as well as a range of family activities.
Chris Miller, Director of Development, Midland Heart, said: “We are delighted to have achieved planning permission to bring high quality and much-needed affordable housing for local people who want to live in the Branston area.
“We anticipate work on preparing the site will start very soon and that the first homes will be ready for occupation early in 2020.”
He added that the Branston development was the first to get underway since Midland Heart and Partner signed an agreement to work together to source land, gain planning permission, and build around 150 homes a year.
Steve Walsh, Construction Director with Partner in the Midlands, added: “We are pleased to have been selected to work with Midland Heart across the region, forging a strong relationship that is delivering homes for local people. This cosy development at Branston is beautifully designed and is sure to be popular.”
A report to the planning committee states that the proposed development ‘would contribute positively towards meeting the borough’s requirement to provide additional housing to meet the needs of present and future generations.’
The executive summary also notes that the site’s design has ‘a sense of spaciousness within the layout’ due to all buildings being set back from the single internal road, and the ”considerable effort” made to incorporate landscaped frontages to break up the hard surfacing and parking areas.
The development, which is made up of detached and semi-detached houses and a two-storey block of six apartments, complements the local character of Branston. It will also provide improvements to off-site footpaths and visibility at the junction of Court Farm Lane with Main Street.
Midland Heart’s first development with Partner was completed recently at Bagworth in Leicestershire and another is under construction in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, with the first homes due to be completed later this year.
Further joint developments are also being explored.
Header image shows Midland Heart CEO Glenn Harris, left, and Chairman John Edwards, with Fastflow Group CEO and Chairman Neil Armstrong. Partner is part of the Fastflow Group.
