Property round-up: Livv Housing; Salford City Council; CCL Facades; Blithe House; Congleton Market Quarter

Knowsley-based housing association, Livv Housing Group, is on track to achieving its current three-year corporate plan target of delivering 1,000 new homes, with more than 600 currently under construction across the Liverpool City Region and beyond.

Livv is currently active on 20 sites. The new homes under construction include 365 homes for affordable and social rent, 115 homes for rent to buy and 128 homes for shared ownership, which will be sold through the Livv Homes arm of the business.

These developments reflect Livv’s commitment to offering a diverse range of affordable housing solutions, and span multiple local authority areas in Knowsley, St Helens, Halton, Sefton, West Lancashire and Warrington.

Key projects include the £6.1m Berrywood regeneration scheme in Whiston, the £5.2m Parkside Place development in Warrington – Livv’s first in the area, and the £3.3m ‘road to zero carbon’ pilot scheme in Kirkby.

Livv is working with a range of delivery partners, from renowned housebuilders to specialist small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), having secured funding from Barclays, Santander, Homes England and the Liverpool City Region Brownfield Land Fund.

Yvonne Westhead-Fyles, Director of Development at Livv Housing Group, said: “Our priority is to tackle housing demand across the city region and our partner boroughs.

“We’re excited to deliver hundreds of new homes to suit a variety of needs, including houses, bungalows and apartments. But every home we build is more than just bricks and mortar – it’s an investment in people and place.

“Our projects provide secure, affordable housing while creating vibrant communities where individuals and families can thrive.”

She added: “Collaboration is key, and by working closely with our local and regional partners we’re making great progress in delivering much needed new homes for our customers that will have a lasting, positive impact.”

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Salford City Council has now launched a consultation on whether private housing landlords in parts of Broughton and Kersal should require a licence.

Selective licensing is a licence scheme which requires all private landlords operating within a designated area to license any privately rented property within that area.

The consultation is now launching after it was agreed by the council’s cabinet in July and had since been discussed through the authority’s scrutiny process. If approved, the selective licensing scheme would give the council the power to make sure that all private landlords who rent out a property to a household in the proposed areas have a licence and abide by rules set by the council.

It would cover approximately 1,340 properties in parts of Broughton and the Kersal and Broughton Park wards and cover the same area and streets as the previous scheme, which ended in 2021. 

Cllr Tracy Kelly, Deputy City Mayor and Lead Member for Housing and Anti-Poverty at Salford City Council, said: “I’m pleased this consultation can now go ahead.

“It is important that local people have their say on this selective licensing scheme and put their views to us so they can help shape our full decision. Evidence in the area shows that challenges come with the amount of private rented properties in the area.

“Our aim is to make sure that local people have access to well managed, affordable homes and that rogue landlords have no place in the area. This all links in with our commitment to create a fairer and more inclusive city for local people.” 

Salford City Council approved two previous schemes in the area, the most recent being launched in January 2016 and this ran for a maximum limit of five years.

Council officers completed a review and found there have been positive impacts against a number of the scheme’s original objectives, however, they recognise that there is further work to be done in the area.

They also found the majority of properties within licensable areas are benefiting from improvements and greater compliance as landlords are more willing to do work required on their properties to remedy hazards and defects.

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CGI of Bristol Myers Squibb scheme

Facade specialists, CCL Facades, is set to grow its North West project portfolio with its appointment to deliver a multimillion-pound contract, on behalf of Preston-based Eric Wright Construction, for global pharmaceutical company, Bristol Myers Squibb, at its new facility in Wirral.

The contract will see CCL Facades design, supply and deliver a full facade, including a steel framing solution, the curtain walling, windows, glass roof lights for the winter wardens and louvers, along with the three dimensional aluminum cladding for the two-storey, 37,000 sq ft building in Moreton, where the global pharmaceutical company is expanding its existing campus.

CCL Facades’ work, which will reach completion at the end of this year, will comprise the company’s own Speedpanel products, including steel-faced A2-rated spandrel panels, which are manufactured in the UK.

Targeting a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ accreditation, the new laboratory will include a curtain walling system and roof lights from Runcorn-based Kawneer and aluminium cladding from Lancashire-based Proteus Facades.

The new contract is the largest to be delivered by CCL Facades in the North West following its inception in 2022.

Tony Blake, Managing Director at Wakefield-based CCL Facades, said: “Investments in new research developments, particularly those of high prominence such as this, have to balance both aesthetic and exceptionally high technical standards – our clients want striking buildings that perform at the best they possibly can.

“Our bespoke facade solutions strike this balance, and our growing portfolio of projects is a testament to the quality of our work but also allows us to flex our capabilities and deliver ambitious facade solutions.”

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Blithe House office space

Blithe House, the financial management company, has secured a new office space on the hIgh street in Newton-le-Willows after recently expanding the team.

Outgrowing their previous space in Stockton Heath, Blithe House has taken over the new office which is over two floors, complete with a boardroom, staff office and staff breakout area.

Set in a prime location on the high street of Newton-le-Willows, moving into the office space marks a new era for Blithe House FM, with director Jonathan Causey continuing to drive the business forward with more clients and offering additional financial management services.

As part of the Blithe House growth strategy, Jonathan Causey has expanded his team with two new hires to specialise in specific areas of the business.

Wesley Joyce, 24, joins Blithe House from a large national financial advice company after five years, with experience as an Independent Financial Advisor, specialising in professional sports individuals.

David Tomkinson, 39, joins as a Commercial Broker after 17 years with NatWest, supporting businesses with various areas of finance.

Jonathan Causey said: “Securing a HQ in this prime location has been incredible and allows Blithe House to sit amongst other successful businesses in the area. It’s an excellent spot for transport links which makes it ideal for both staff and clients.”

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Congleton Market Quarter event

The Congleton Market Quarter Group has unveiled the Phase 02 Container Village development which has been designed to further transform Congleton’s town centre and support local businesses.

This phase of the development was introduced to the community with an exclusive Business-to-Business pre-launch event at Congleton Market Quarter.

The event attracted 155 businesses and more than 400 attendees.

Guests were offered a sneak peek into Congleton’s future business landscape, with guided tours of the retail and workspace container village units, along with a preview of the additional workspaces soon to be available at 31 Mill Street from January 2025.

Phase 02 will introduce up to 17 retail or workspace containers, ranging in size from 10 to 40 feet, each thoughtfully designed to inspire and nurture Congleton’s small businesses.

This expansion promises to further revitalise the town centre, which has already seen a 42% increase in footfall since the launch of Phase 01 at Congleton Market Quarter.

With the official launch scheduled for March 2025, the Market Quarter Group is actively seeking passionate business owners to join this dynamic new development.

Nick Hynes, Market Quarter Group Partner, said: “We have seen first hand with our inception project, the ‘Congleton Market Quarter’, how community-focused regeneration and development can directly impact the economic growth of the town centre which has allowed for our progression into phase 02 of the project.

“We set out to do things differently, with a razor-sharp focus on creating something more impactful and sustainable than the development itself.”

Ged Lynch, Market Quarter Group Partner, said: “There’s no ‘set and forget’ mentality here. We believe that we only succeed when our independent vendors succeed and we’re excited to see those in phase 2 of Congletons development flourish.”