Property round-up: Crown Oil Estates; CGA; 21 Living; ISG; Inscape Interiors; University of Salford
Bury-based Crown Oil Estates has purchased Apex Industrial Estate, a 4.9-acre site on Haydock Industrial Estate, from a private investor, for an undisclosed sum.
The deal was completed in conjunction with strategic management advisors SCP Investments and Ignite.
The site, on Haydock Industrial Estate, comprises eight separate industrial units totalling 82,474 sq ft. The estate offers a mixture of units, providing the opportunity to drive rental tone.
Haydock is home to a number of major occupiers including, Sainsbury’s, Booker, Amazon, and Kellogg’s.
Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield advised Crown Oil Estates throughout the acquisition. James Kinsler at PK3 Agency represented the vendor.
Ben Watson, from Cushman & Wakefield’s North West Capital Markets team, said: “Haydock Industrial Estate is a well-recognised location, with a broad range of industrial occupiers making the decision to base operations here. Apex Industrial Estate presents excellent prospects for rental growth in the short to medium term.”
Stephen Chicken, from SCP Investments, said: “This purchase is the latest in a series of multi-let estates for Crown throughout the North West including Barton Hall, Eccles and Warth at Radcliffe which is undergoing extensive refurbishment.”
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A new estate of homes for affordable rent and shared ownership in Preston has been completed by Community Gateway Association (CGA), the city’s largest not-for-profit housing association.
The 78 homes, comprising 75 houses, three bungalows, a playground and ample green space, have been built by Seddon Housing Partnerships on behalf of CGA. Forty three of the homes are available for affordable rent, while 35 are to be sold on a shared-ownership basis.
The site, completed in May, is on Miller Road in Ribbleton, Preston, and has been designed to promote ‘people-led construction’.
CGA’s Executive Director of Customers and Communities, Louise Mattinson, said: “We’re thrilled to see final completion at our Miller Road development. These new affordable and shared ownership homes are sorely needed in Preston and to be able to deliver them to such a high standard has been so encouraging.”
Peter Jackson, Managing Director of Seddon Housing Partnerships, said: “The project at Miller Road is another great example of how Seddon works in partnership with organisations of all kinds to develop new and vibrant spaces. Working with CGA has been immensely rewarding and we look forward to developing projects with them in the future.”
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Tiviot Dale CGI
Altrincham-based developer, 21 Living, has submitted plans for a £6m residential-led scheme with commercial space at Tiviot Dale, Stockport.
It forms one of three sites, totalling £25m GDV, being redeveloped by 21 Living in the town, all due to be submitted for planning consent this month.
The scheme was identified through ‘Unlocked’, a new placemaking collective launched to solve the housing crisis by increasing density in urban centres, maintaining green belt, and bringing forward sustainable development opportunities on overlooked sites to benefit their local communities.
Unlocked brings together developers, councils, consultants, investors, finance and sales to facilitate delivery of sites that others can’t get to work.
The focus is in towns and urban centres where regeneration and viability are more of a challenge with the aim of delivering mixed tenure housing to help local authorities meet housing targets, reducing reliance upon car ownership, while targeting zero carbon and providing facilities that communities currently lack and need.
Designed by Ollier Smurthwaite Architects (OSA), the Tiviot Dale scheme submitted to Stockport Council consists of a six-storey apartment building, with 33 apartments and a ground floor retail unit located on the corner of Tiviot Dale and Bridge Street. The former taking its name from Tiviot Dale Station.
Matt Ollier, director at OSA, said: “The scheme reintroduces the historic urban grain to this part of Stockport and takes design cues from the now demolished Victorian station façade. The scheme sets a new benchmark for quality within this new character area as defined in the recently published Character Appraisal and Urban Density Study.”
Luke Powell, managing director, 21 Living, said: “We have a vision for strategic regeneration opportunities in North West towns. Our focus is on delivering high quality modern living that makes a positive impact on the local community. Demand for first class apartments in Stockport is high, and this scheme will continue the regeneration drive that is gathering pace here.”
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A significant milestone was reached this week in the construction of Orchard House, a new £16m special high school which is due to open in Miles Platting, Manchester next September.
A special beam-signing ceremony was held at the school to celebrate the completion of the building’s steel frame, with employees from main contractor ISG and the North West Construction Hub joining members of the city council and the Prospere Learning Trust on site to mark the event.
Once completed, Orchard House will cater for boys and girls with an Education, Health and Care Plan for significant additional needs, with space for 150 pupils aged between 11 and 19-years-old.
The Prospere Learning Trust has been chosen to run the school and has worked with the project team as part of a collaborative design process to ensure teaching methodologies and aspirations are met through the building and its facilities provision.
The single-storey building, designed by JM Architects and Ridge and Partners, additionally functions as a key community hub, and outside of school hours its double-height main hall space and external games areas will be available for use by a wide range of local groups and clubs.
Linda Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Prospere Learning Trust, said: “We’re really excited at the difference Orchard House is going to make, both to pupils and the community in Miles Platting. We’re looking forward to welcoming our first pupils next year and helping them succeed and achieve in what promises to be a fantastic new building, firmly rooted within the local community.”
Funded by the city council the school is scheduled for completion in summer 2025. It joins a family of special schools in Manchester that currently includes five primary schools, two all-through primary to secondary schools, and seven high schools.
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St John Viany exterior
Commercial washrooms manufacture and fit-out specialist, Inscape Interiors, has landed four new North West projects spanning the education, healthcare and leisure sectors.
The Lancashire-based company has been appointed by Kier Northern to provide washroom packages for the new St John Vianney SEND School in Stretford, Manchester. The same contractor has also chosen Inscape for a new surgical centre being developed at Victoria Infirmary in Northwich, Cheshire.
Meanwhile, John Robinson Building Contractors has appointed Inscape to provide washroom packages for the redevelopment of the theatre at Lowther Pavilion & Gardens in Lytham, Lancashire.
Inscape has also been selected by Read Construction to provide the washroom facilities as part of a £2m refurbishment project at Wrexham Tennis Centre in Wales.
Gary Wynne, managing director of Inscape, said: “What all these developments have in common is that they will have a hugely positive impact on communities, from cutting waiting times for patients, keeping people active, educating young people, or enabling people to have great cultural experiences.”
The new state-of-the-art £18.2m Cheshire and Merseyside Surgical Centre at Victoria Infirmary, Northwich, will be capable of treating 12,000 patients a year. Due to open in 2025, the centre will focus on ophthalmology and other surgical services, including operating theatres, recovery areas and consulting rooms.
A new 150-seat education centre and studio theatre is being constructed at Lytham’s Lowther Pavilion & Gardens as part of a £1.2m redevelopment project.
The renowned Wrexham Tennis Centre is investing £2m it received from the Shared Prosperity Fund to improve and upgrade facilities at the long established centre, including the creation of three new public padel courts, as well as new floodlights and the resurfacing of existing tennis courts.
At St John Vianney School, Stretford, Kier is building a replacement school for learners with special educational needs and disabilities. Once complete, the school will achieve net zero emissions in operation thanks to features like air-source heat pumps and solar panels. Supporting around 160 learners, it will include primary and secondary classrooms, specialised classrooms for subjects such as D&T and IT, sensory rooms, therapy rooms and a sports hall.
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New research from the University of Salford’s HIVEE (Housebuilding Innovations in Volume, Environment and Efficiency) research cluster has uncovered the UK’s housebuilding sector is struggling to meet supply chain challenges in the current climate, calling for a new strategic direction.
As such, this October, researchers at the university are hosting an event for those interested in the housebuilding sector to gain insight on the future of the industry and to evolve current procurement processes. The full day event, on October 23, at the University’s MediaCityUK campus, will be hosted as part of the ESRC’s (Economic and Social Research Council) Festival of Social Science and is free to attend.
In addition to researchers from the university, industry experts from the likes of housebuilder, Barratt Homes, and sustainable heating and cooling solutions provider, Daikin, will be speaking during the event. Each will share valuable insight on a range of areas impacting the industry, including the evolution of the role of the architect, opportunities to adopt new emerging technologies for design, and how new sustainability research could help shape environmental policy while navigating other industry concerns during live panel discussions.
Aaron Robertson, Lecturer in Supply Chain, Logistics and Project Management, plus Research Lead for HIVEE at the university, said: “The housebuilding sector is in essential need of a new strategic direction, if it is to overcome the supply chain challenges it’s currently facing.
“On top of this, it’s widely reported that the construction sector is facing significant impact due to a burgeoning skills shortage. While the sector has traditionally relied on a younger workforce due to the nature of the job, fewer people are opting for this career route and there’s been a sharp decline in the number of apprentices entering the sector.
“With a loss of construction skills and limits on traditional building materials, it’s essential the sector progresses current practices if it’s to be resilient. However, new methods of construction and their take up are being held back and stopping housebuilders from being able to modernise their supply chains around these proposed methods.”
