Property round-up: FCHO; Salford Foyer; Flexible Business Interiors; Hugh James; Warden Construction; H&H Land & Estates
A £4m First Choice Homes Oldham scheme comprising 16 new affordable and eco-friendly family homes in Middleton has been completed.
The super-green properties have transformed a brownfield site off Oldham Road.
The family dwellings are part of an FCHO investment plan to ensure people living in the communities it serves can get on the property ladder and are not priced out of the housing market, alongside its net zero carbon ambitions to make a positive difference and build sustainable homes.
FCHO worked with KMM Homes as the main contractor for the mixed tenure project which benefited from a £0.7m Homes England Grant.
The 16 high quality sustainable homes include six two-bedroom and two three-bedroom houses for affordable rent, which means tenants can enjoy rent rates set at no more than 80% of the local market rent.
These homes have been allocated via Rochdale Council’s housing register.
The remaining properties are made up of six four-bedroom and two three-bedroom homes for shared ownership. This offers people the chance to buy an initial share of a home and pay rent on the rest. They can then buy more shares in their home in the future, as and when they can afford it
All eight shared ownership properties have been reserved after being marketed through Fabric Living, FCHO’s shared ownership and sales brand.
This is the second project FCHO has worked on with KMM Homes, after coming together to deliver the Ridge Hill scheme in Stalybridge with the Grassmoor development creating eight affordable four-bedroom houses last year.
Joel Owen, FCHO’s Director of Development said: “We are committed to playing an active and positive role in the communities we serve, and this project is another great example of our focus to provide high quality affordable homes.
“This project also complements our work towards net zero, generating a range of opportunities for customers and the communities we serve by lowering energy bills and reducing fuel poverty within our neighbourhoods.”
The development is part of FCHO’s wider £160m investment to build 1,100 affordable, green homes in Oldham and surrounding areas between 2020 and 2026 to improve the lives of local people.
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Salford Foyer, run by Places for People, is set to boost its support for young people experiencing homelessness in the North West, with funding from property industry charity LandAid, to build six new modular homes.
With innovative thinking and modern building techniques at the forefront, permission was recently granted by Salford City Council’s Planning Committee for the Seedley Road site. The six modular units will be available for young single parent families who have become homeless.
The spaces will allow people to live independently with their own kitchen area, living area, bathroom and bedroom, while still having access to wrap around support from the charity, Salford Foyer.
The properties will be delivered by Agile Homes and will be part-funded by money raised through LandAid’s flagship SleepOut event in Greater Manchester, which the team from Places for People took part in.
Last year alone nearly 136,000 16-24 year olds presented to their local authority as homeless or at risk of homelessness. Sadly, this figure is getting worse with a 2.21% rise in the North West on the previous year. With rising rents and reductions in benefit payments disproportionately affecting those most vulnerable, like young single parent families, support has never been needed more.
These six units will enable Salford Foyer to support even more young people who don’t have a place to turn for support when they most desperately need it.
Rachel Crownshaw, Group Managing Director for Communities at Places for People, said: “The demand for safe, high quality supported accommodation for young people in the North West sadly continues to rise, so we are very grateful to be able to increase our offer with the support of LandAid’s funding. We are really excited to add the new, modern, modular homes to our existing service and to be able to support more young people when they need it most and to give them the best possible start to adulthood.”
Nathan Cornish, Chair for LandAid’s North West board, said: “We’ve been working hard as a North West board to identify a project that we can invest the monies we have raised into – the Salford Foyer proposal is the project that got us all excited.”
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CGI of Brabners Liverpool fit-out
Specialist fit-out and refurbishment company, Flexible Business Interiors (FBI), has won the contract to deliver independent law firm Brabners’ new Liverpool office within the newly refurbished Horton House.
Designed by Incognito, the scheme will introduce new departmental neighbourhoods and agile working practices already put to the test at Brabners’ Manchester, Leeds and Lancashire premises following their recent refurbishments, and which helped the B-Corp certified firm be recognised as the UK’s ‘Best Law Firm to Work For’ by Best Companies.
Aesthetically, the Liverpool accommodation will take cues from Brabners’ other regional offices, but is heavily influenced by the history of its location. Maritime themes including waves, seascapes and shorelines are reflected throughout the workspace in shapes, colours and lighting.
Split into four wings across two floors of Horton House, the new HQ will feature departmental hubs, alongside a range of tech-enabled meeting spaces, focus pods and a large heart space where staff can come together to collaborate and socialise. In addition, a revamped client suite will be created with fully flexible meeting rooms designed to accommodate large seminars and events.
Project managed by Knight Frank and estimated to take around 10 months to complete, the works will be delivered into two phases with handover expected early in 2025.
Alan Lloyd, Head of Facilities at Brabners, said: “Our continued investment in our offices ensures that we can attract and retain the very best talent, and unlock collaboration between our teams through the provision of inspiring, motivational and enjoyable places to work.”
George Curwen, Director at Flexible Business Interiors, said: “We are thrilled to have been instructed to deliver this game-changing fit-out for Brabners in a building that we already know so well having completed a significant refurbishment of the ground floor reception space last year.”
Howard Powsney, Director at Incognito, said: “We pride ourselves on the quality of our client relationships and our ability to design creative, intelligent interiors, so having worked with Brabners to reimagine its workspaces in Lancashire, Leeds and Manchester, it is fantastic to now be involved in this latest project at the firm’s head office in Liverpool.”
Owned by Ashtrom Properties, the Grade II-listed Horton House recently underwent an extensive refurbishment also designed by Incognito and delivered by Flexible Business Interiors.
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Caroline O’Flaherty
Top 100 UK law firm, Hugh James, has been appointed to provide legal advice to Great Places Housing Group, one of Manchester’s largest social housing developers, under a £10m legal services framework.
Great Places Housing Group is set to deliver around 2,000 new homes across the 10 Greater Manchester districts over the next few years, including the full range of tenures from social rent to shared ownership.
The group has appointed Hugh James to advise on matters relating to development and Plumlife sales, human resources and divestment for a four-year period. The framework is also intended to create social value, through cost-effective legal services enabling funds to be redirected into community engagement and aesthetic enhancement projects in the group’s core neighbourhoods.
Hugh James has more than four decades of experience supporting the sector. Its social housing team employs more than 50 lawyers, paralegals and support staff and serves a client base in excess of 40 housing associations and local authorities in England and Wales.
Hugh James Commercial Property Partner, Caroline O’Flaherty, said: “Great Places Housing Group’s ambitious development programme is going to make a substantial difference to the people of Greater Manchester, and we are very excited to be involved.”
Great Places Housing Group’s Procurement Manager, Bryan Simmons, said: “We are confident the firm will be able to work with us and the clients of the framework in supporting the sector’s extensive development ambitions in the North. The firm will also assist in providing legal support and advice on HR and Divestment requirements throughout the course of the four-year framework.”
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Work begins on youth centre scheme
Construction work is under way on a £1.7m expansion of a youth centre in Blackpool that will provide new opportunities for young people in the area.
Warden Construction is the main contractor on the state-of-the-art centre which will be built on Gorton Street in the Talbot and Brunswick area of the town.
The existing outdated facility has been demolished and is being replaced with a single storey, multi-use building roughly three times the size, that will include an activity hall, canteen, office space, kitchen and washroom facilities.
The expansion will allow for more youth work activities and opportunities for young people, providing a safe and supportive space to learn and develop their talents.
The scheme, expected to complete in February 2025, is being funded from a grant from the Government’s Youth Investment Fund, which was secured by the Blackpool Boys and Girls Club and Blackpool Council.
Ian Williams, managing director at Warden Construction, said: “The expansion of Blackpool Youth Zone is a fantastic project for Warden to be involved in, and one that very much aligns with our core values around community impact.”
Cllr Kath Benson, Cabinet Member for Young People and Aspiration, said: “This development is much needed and what our young residents deserve.
“Blackpool Boys and Girls Club have ensured that young people have been at the heart of the development plans so that it delivers what they want and need. It will provide them with a safe and supportive space to learn, grow, and develop their talents.”
Jed Sullivan, Youth Worker at Blackpool Boys and Girls Club, said: “Our staff, volunteers, trustees, Chairman, and, most importantly, the young people we serve are brimming with excitement as they watch this incredible new youth centre grow before our eyes.”
The facilities will also support local efforts to reduce anti-social behaviour, which has seen a 42% reduction since Summer 2023, following a collaboration with Lancashire Police as part of Operation Centurion in the Brunswick and Talbot wards.
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H&H Land & Estates Carlisle team
From Monday September 2, independent property and land agency, H&H Land & Estates, will provide its property sales and lettings services, and its full range of land agency and environmental support from a dedicated hub at Borderway on the Rosehill Industrial Estate, Carlisle.
The residential and property division will be based alongside the company’s lettings, land agency, and environmental departments, all of which are already based at this site. This supports further business hubs throughout the Northern England footprint.
The move is the latest step forward in the strategic development of H&H Land & Estates into a property services provider fit for a rapidly changing market and an increasingly digital future.
In place of the traditional high street estate agency, the H&H Land & Estates Borderway hub will offer property vendors and purchasers in Carlisle and the surrounding areas an innovative service combining the best of personal professionalism and online convenience for those buying, selling, letting, or renting a property.
The move to Borderway will create a fully integrated H&H Group super-hub shared by sister companies including Harrison & Hetherington and H&H Insurance Brokers. The property agency service will continue to be provided by the same team, headed up by manager Paul Doyle, but the H&H Land & Estates property team will be empowered to take their service and support directly to customers, dovetailing with the company’s estate agency network across the North of England.
Paul Doyle, believes the move to Borderway will take estate agency to a completely new level in Carlisle. He said:“H&H Land & Estates has always moved with the times to reflect the changing needs of our clients, and we’re now making this key transition from the high street to reflect the profound changes in the way our customers want to access our services.
“Online and digital technology is transforming the way people access goods and services today, and it creates the opportunity for us to offer huge advantages in the speed and convenience of selling and buying property. So we’re combining our traditional professional expertise with the latest in technology to make sure we can help every client to sell or rent their property as easily and advantageously as possible.”
