£3m housing scheme complete after 10-year wait

A £3M development of affordable homes has been unveiled in the East Lancashire town of Colne.

The Housing Pendle development, to be known as “The Arches”, has finally come to life a decade after the project stalled when its previous developer stopped trading.

The Arches comprises a total of 21 two and three-bedroom properties in a mix of mews and town house styles.

Cheshire-based specialist housing developer Mulbury built the properties on behalf of Housing Pendle, part of Together Housing Group, which will make the homes available for social rent.

Mulbury construction manager Kevin Morris said: “When Mulbury took on the scheme, eight of the homes were partially built, while others were only part way out of the ground, so the project presented some real challenges for us.

“Because the development had been abandoned for so long, the brickwork on some of the incomplete homes had become weathered, so we had to take them back to ground level and start again. We also had to specially source materials to match the original brickwork, so there were a lot of obstacles to overcome.

“The completed development looks great. It really proves Mulbury’s expertise in dealing with difficult sites.”

Renea Cammish, development project manager at Housing Pendle, added: “The development presented many challenges due to its unique nature, which many other developers would have shied away from, but our partnership with Mulbury has provided an excellent finished product.

“This development has enabled Housing Pendle to provide high-quality, affordable homes to local people in housing need. The properties are also energy efficient so they will help our residents lower their fuel bills.”