Homes England makes £30m loan to fund third phase of Middlewood Locks
A £30m loan has been granted to continue the transformation of the Middlewood Locks scheme in Salford.
The facility is from Homes England, the Government’s housing and regeneration agency.
The agreement is with Middlewood Locks KLM, a partnership between Scarborough Group International and its joint venture partners Metro Holdings and Hualing Group.
It will see 189 new homes built as the third phase of the 25-acre brownfield site.
Middlewood Locks is being created over a number of phases. Once complete, it will deliver more than 2,000 homes, 900,000 sq ft of commercial space, including an hotel and leisure amenities in a calm canal side environment with 4.5 acres of public realm and event space.
Just a stone’s throw from Salford Central station and a short walk from Manchester’s Spinningfields business district, the site includes substantial public realm within the design, incorporating the attractive waterside setting of the restored Manchester, Bolton and Bury canal.
Housing Minister, Stuart Andrew, said: “I am pleased to see the progress being made at Middlewood Locks, a major regeneration project for Salford that will deliver vital new homes for the city, create jobs and boost the wider economy. It is a fantastic example of our brownfield-first plan to transform disused land into thriving communities.”
Planning consent was granted last year for the Railings at Middlewood Locks following the successful completion and sell out of 1,117 apartments in phases one and two.
The new neighbourhood is already thriving with more than 1,300 people living and working at Middlewood Locks.
Peter Denton, chief executive at Homes England, said: “With the first two phases of Middlewood Locks now complete, we’re already seeing the transformational impact that this scheme is having on the local area. This latest funding will help to bring forward the next phase and add a new community to the already vibrant neighbourhoods created there.”
The funding comes from the Government’s Levelling Up Home Building Fund, which provides development finance to small-medium housebuilders to help diversify the market and build much needed homes and communities.
This deal marks the second commitment made by Homes England to Middlewood Locks, after the first phase of the project benefitted from both short and long term loans to support the creation of 1,100 homes, supported by vital infrastructure. The approval of both of these loans for one project is rare and underlines the agency’s belief in the importance of the project to the community and wider area.
Kevin McCabe, chairman at Scarborough Group International, said: “Securing this funding from Homes England marks a significant step forward in the expansion of our award winning, mixed use neighbourhood at Middlewood Locks.
“Not only does it reinforce our long standing relationship with Homes England, it also underlines our joint aspiration for creating a vibrant city centre community through the delivery of a further 189 high quality homes, together with supporting amenity space and public realm.”
Middlewood Locks is just one of the schemes Homes England is supporting in Salford. The English Cities Fund, Homes England’s long standing partnership with Legal & General and Muse Developments, has also secured a £2.5bn, 240-acre scheme at Salford Crescent in partnership with Salford City Council and the University of Salford, which will bring more than 3,000 homes.
It will also deliver up to one million sq ft of space to innovate and collaborate, one million sq ft of offices, retail, and leisure space, and a new multi-modal transport hub with active travel at its heart to the city, all set within swathes of green space.
