Housebuilder’s £4m investment in Blackburn community
Kingswood Homes will invest more than £4m in the Blackburn community after acquiring the final 64-acre piece in the puzzle of the Gib Lane Masterplan.
The land, located west of Moorland Drive, covers phases four to 11 of Preston-based Kingswood’s Green Hills development in Feniscowles and is the continuation of the scheme HemingwayDesign originally designed.
A hybrid planning application was granted in May for 435 homes, including existing contemporary style properties, along with a range of more traditional looking designs to cater for a diverse mix of purchasers.
Kingswood will support the continued growth of the neighbourhood by investing £4m in the community.
The SME developer is providing land valued at more than £3m for a new primary school and has pledged £850,000 towards new primary school places. The company will also make a £150,000 contribution towards provision of off-site affordable housing.
Kingswood Homes managing director, Paul Jones, said: “The vision of a sustainable village in Blackburn has become a reality at Green Hills. It’s fast become a desirable neighbourhood where people aspire to live.
“We’ve welcomed more than 125 homeowners to date and have committed to delivering hundreds more homes with this latest land acquisition.”
Rule Five Land were the promotors for the site and have worked closely with Kingswood Homes throughout the purchase of all earlier phases of the Green Hills development.
The recently acquired land will deliver a range of properties including two-bedroom bungalows, plus semi-detached and detached homes with three to six bedrooms.
Paul Jones added: “We have designed a new range of house types for this part of Green Hills that will potentially appeal to a slightly different demographic of purchasers than earlier phases of the development.
“The new Homestead range draws upon the local vernacular and heritage of Blackburn, with a nod to features of the Georgian era which was popular during the peak of the town’s growth. We will also be introducing bungalows for the first time, in the later phases of Green Hills.
“We’re aware there is a particular demand for bungalows in the area, given that few developers build them as a general rule.”
The topography of the site provides opportunities for broad panoramic views of the West Pennine Moors and prominent landmarks, such as the wooded hills of Hoghton Tower and Billinge Hill, Pendle Hill to the north and Darwen Tower to the south.
The new phases will include housing reflecting the Pennine vernacular, with scope for contemporary architectural accents, plus homes built using red brick, slate grey coloured roofs, accents, and render.
Work on these homes is due to begin this autumn and is expected to take more than seven years to complete.
The homes will be interspersed with numerous areas of incidental and informal open space. There will be a more formal open space around a feature oak tree, plus meandering paths and a sustainable urban drainage system including swales and basins.
