Riverside awards £29m contract for key housing and care site in Southport

Liverpool-based housing provider, Riverside Group, has awarded a £29m contract to developer, Vistry Group, to create a major housing and extra care facilities in Southport.

Vistry will build 40 energy-efficient homes alongside an extra care scheme providing 90 apartments, as well as new external landscaped areas.

As part of the development, Vistry will also deliver a 12-apartment Short Term Assessment Centre for individuals who are neurodiverse.

The design of the centre, which will be operated by Sefton Council, has been shaped by Riverside and those with lived experience of autism and learning disabilities.

The new homes will include houses, bungalows and apartments, providing high quality care options to the local community. Twenty of the homes will be offered in shared ownership tenure, helping local people to enter the owned property market.

Riverside is delivering the development as part of its £80.7m Strategic Partnership with Homes England, the Government’s housing and regeneration agency.

Work is due to start early this year, with the development expected to be completed by early 2026.

Gemma Hardy, managing director of Vistry Merseyside & Cheshire West, said: “We’re really pleased to be working with Riverside to bring forward a significant number of new affordable homes in Southport, alongside vital care facilities for the community.

“This new development is another great example of the strengths of our business model – where we can operate as both a developer and a contractor – and we’re looking forward to work getting under way early this year.”

Nick Jones, director of development and growth at Riverside, said: “We’re delighted be investing £33m into this development and are really looking forward to working with Vistry once again.

“We pride ourselves in being one of the country’s largest providers of housing and care services, and this scheme, delivered in partnership with Sefton Council and Homes England, will enable us to provide an inclusive community that not only supports local people to step onto the property ladder through a choice of quality homes, but offers individuals options to continue living independently.”