Watkin Jones Group’s Post

Watkin Jones Group is proud to partner with Torus to deliver 295 new homes as part of a regeneration scheme in St Helens, Merseyside. 140 properties will be delivered, including shared ownership, social rent, and rent-to-buy options including 2, 3, and 4-bedroom homes, mews properties, and apartments. This project revitalises a brownfield site and addresses the critical need for affordable housing, delivering high-quality, sustainable homes for the community. Delivering sustainable designed homes with fossil-fuel-free heating, the development will be a short walk to St Helens town centre and excellent transport links.

Watkin Jones Group has partnered with Torus to deliver 295 new homes as part of a regeneration scheme in St Helens, Merseyside. 140 properties will be delivered, including shared ownership, social rent, and rent-to-buy options including 2, 3, and 4-bedroom homes, mews properties, and apartments. This project revitalises a brownfield site and addresses the critical need for affordable housing, delivering high-quality, sustainable homes for the community. Delivering sustainable designed homes with fossil-fuel-free heating, the development will be a short walk to St Helens town centre and excellent transport links. Click here to read the full press release and hear from George Dyer, Group Investment Director - https://lnkd.in/eGCc5uVX

Building homes fit for the future. Through Crescent Salford, we’re creating a vibrant, well-connected community with sustainability at its heart. And, as part of this, we’re delivering high-quality, affordable housing which is designed with the environment in mind. Willohaus – located on Peru Street – is being built to Passivhaus Classic certified standard, and will be the second development of its kind in the city following the completion of Greenhaus on Chapel Street earlier this year. Comprising 100 one and two-bedroomed homes, the eco-friendly apartments will help residents reduce their energy bills by up to 90% compared to traditional housing. Delivered by ECF alongside Salix Homes, Willohaus is set to complete in 2026 and will mark the first homes handed over to residents as part of the £2.5bn Crescent Salford regeneration. You can find out more about Willohaus here - https://lnkd.in/eF4DYxGU #regeneration #passivhaus #Salford

Our final blog with Virgin Land examines grey belt’s role in tackling UK housing challenges. In regions like London and the South West, progress will come through a balanced approach, blending grey belt, brownfield, and urban regeneration. Read the full analysis below. #HousingCrisis #GreyBeltSites #Housinganalysis #UrbanDevelopment #UKHousing #HousingSolutions #FutureOfHousing #CACIResidential

The final insightful report from Tolga Necar and VirginLand by Ringley on how the grey belt initiative will help the much talked-about housing crisis - this time looking at demand in London and the South West. CACI Ltd data shows that while London might have the greatest need, it unfortunately has very little in the way of viable grey belt sites on which to build, so the government will need to come up with another solution that can work alongside this. Message myself or Tolga if you'd like to find out more on this topic. #greybelt #data #insights #property #housebuilding #CACILtd

Our final post in the grey belt series with VirginLand by Ringley analyses how the grey belt initiative could impact two high-demand regions: London and the South West. In London, despite 22% of the area being classified as green belt, just 31 sites have been identified as viable grey belt, supporting only 1,955 homes. Similarly, the South West’s grey belt holds promise yet it has limited reach. While 228 sites in the region could yield nearly 11,868 new homes, only 18% of the South West’s 1.6 million movers live near these locations. To achieve substantial housing progress, the grey belt must work alongside other approaches—like brownfield, infill, and urban regeneration. This multi-faceted strategy is essential to delivering effective, sustainable housing for London, the South West, and beyond. Discover the full blog for a closer look into how grey belt reallocation, combined with strategic initiatives, could shape a more accessible housing future for the UK. https://lnkd.in/gMW6xXxG #HousingCrisis #GreyBeltSites #Housinganalysis #UrbanDevelopment #UKHousing #HousingSolutions #FutureOfHousing #CACIResidential Tolga Necar

Today is the day. 12.5 acres of brownfield in Frome, could be agreed to be sold to Mayday Saxonvale - making it the largest community-led development in the UK! The officer recommendation is for approval, and we're all optimistic it will happen. It's been a long journey, and one I only joined on the last stretch, with a particularly rollercoaster 48 hours last summer which you can read about here: https://lnkd.in/dm_Z3rMj The question I've been asked a lot the last few days is "what will this decision mean for the people of Frome?" and to me it is the sense of confidence, agency, and possibility it will give us that is so exciting. We have all fought so hard for this, and so many people have made their voices heard - whether through the planning system, getting up at the crack of dawn on May Day to hold hands around the site, or offering their ideas and energy to the development. There is a lot of discussion at the moment about our planning system, and for me the main issue is that it forces people to act defensively, rather than proactively, and as residents rather than citizens. This is what creates so much resistance in the system, and why so many developments get stuck. Most developments start with the needs of shareholders, with the needs of the community tagged on at the end, through tiny concessions or S106s. Community-led developments, like Mayday Saxonvale, start with the needs and wants and vision of the community for the site, and then look at how to make it financially viable. That is the key difference. I think its a really exciting model, and one that I hope we will see more of over the next few years - hopefully inspired by Frome, just as we have been inspired by other community-led developments around the UK, such as Hastings Commons. I spoke at the meeting last summer, and I ended by saying this. Fingers crossed Somerset Council do just this today: "So I’m asking you this afternoon to trust in the people of Frome. Trust that we know what is best for our town. Trust our commitment, our enthusiasm, our energy, and bet on the people here today to deliver not just another development, but a better, more hopeful future for Frome. And please, please, sell this land to Mayday Saxonvale." #communityleddevelopment #localdemocracy

500 properties in North East Derbyshire have now been improved through our partnership with Rykneld Homes Ltd 🏘️ Work continues as we speak, with the 640 properties in total set to receive retrofit decarbonisation measures by the time this two-year SHDF Wave 2.1 funded project is complete 🔨 This partnership is proof of what is possible when likeminded organisations combine efforts to change the lives of residents, at scale. Read more about this latest milestone on our website now: https://lnkd.in/e7cmqENj #RykneldSBSPartnership #RetrofitDecarbonisation #Housing #SocialHousing #Sustainability 

Persimmon Homes and Barratt Homes to deliver thousands of new homes in Wiltshire 🏘️🤝 Developers Persimmon Homes and Barratt Homes Bristol have finalised a joint venture to build thousands of new homes in Trowbridge. Persimmon has been working with Wiltshire Council to finalise outline planning permission for up to 2,500 homes at the site, with half the land acquired by Barratt Homes Bristol. The plans will be delivered by Persimmon and Barratt Homes Bristol and their sister companies Charles Church, David Wilson Homes and Redrow Homes. Outline planning permission is expected early in the New Year, and the aim is for the 177-hectare site to feature high-quality, energy efficient homes. Continue reading... https://lnkd.in/e56EHkP9 #property #construction #housing #housebuilder #residentialproperty #future #wiltsnews #wiltshour #businessnews #businessintelligence

Greener growth that’s right for Gawler.   We have been working this year with Town of Gawler and SMEC on a long-term plan to manage population growth and change over the long term. We all know that there is a lot of pressure on housing supply and infrastructure at the moment, but rather than being guided solely by population projections, our planning approach has been to analyse opportunities (urban and non-urban) and create a long-term or ‘‘ultimate’’ land use plan that is ‘‘right for Gawler’’.    The draft Gawler Growth Framework started public consultation this week, and it does plan for significant urban growth. About 10,000 additional homes are planned for, which could see the town’s population grow to 50,000 over time. Much of this is already zoned for housing, and the plan also allows for infill development. The plan also proposes additional urban development to the south of the town, on flat and publicly owned land with rail and other infrastructure adjacent.   The Framework proposes revising the inter-urban break or ‘’green-belt’’ to maintain a separation between Playford and Gawler. This is an important planning objective and an area of strong community interest. We think this can be a mix of open spaces and also some very low-density housing in a treed setting at Kudla. To the west, closer to the Gawler River around Hiller, horticultural and agricultural lands should be kept as these are an important economic and food resource. A new 20ha sports precinct is also planned, along with east-west street connections, community infrastructure, and a mixed use local centre with new housing choices around a new railway station that has been suggested in the heart of the growth area.   The draft Gawler Growth Framework is open for consultation until 18th August and provides Town of Gawler’s perspective into the SA Government’s new regional plan for Greater Adelaide.   #planning #urbandesign #housing #infrastrucutre #gawler #adelaide #garp https://lnkd.in/gcuZqZ6w Patrick Iwanyshyn Joshua Woo Andrew Goodsell Richard Frimpong James Parrott Charles Newland Elinor Walker Ben Murphy Brett Steiner Cherie Gill Craig Holden Stuart Moseley Stephanie Johnston Lisa Teburea John Stimson David O'Loughlin GAICD Malcolm Griffin Sally Smith Chris Menz Chris Branford