Work will commence in the autumn on two innovative, landmark Gateshead developments – 49 homes in High Spen, in the west of the borough and 62 affordable homes near the town centre.
The High Spen properties – to be constructed on the site of the former Hookergate School by the Gateshead Regeneration Partnership (GRP) – will all be sold on the open market.
As well as creating much needed new family housing, this project will also give GRP the confidence to develop the affordable homes on Hyde Park Street, near Saltwell Park.
This third and final phase of the Trilogy development in the area will deliver 42 properties to be managed by Home Group and 20 more specially designed for the Agudas Israel Housing Association, working alongside the local Adler Housing – a registered provider of social housing under the Jewish Community Council of Gateshead .
GRP is a joint venture involving Gateshead Council, regeneration and house building specialist Countryside Partnerships – formerly Vistry Partnerships – and registered housing provider Home Group. The vision was to improve housing quality and choice, trigger economic uplift and community cohesion. So far 520 much needed homes have been constructed on 10 sites.
As well as improving housing quality and choice, the partnership is providing job and training opportunities – a minimum of 25% of which go to local people – and local investment – a quarter of the supply budget is committed to businesses within the borough.
Dave Brown, Managing Director with Countryside Partnerships North East, commented:
“We are thrilled to have secured planning for this site in High Spen, which will create three, four and five bedroomed homes for sale.
“The excellent location and setting make this the ideal site to introduce our Bovis Homes brand, its product and specification to the North East. It is also pleasing that the sale of these properties will support the creation of new affordable rented homes close to the centre of Gateshead, improving the choice and quality of housing options in the Bensham area.”
Cllr John Adams, Cabinet member for Housing and Saltwell Councillor, added:
“It is wonderful to see the third and final Trilogy site coming forward, made possible by the unique model we have. It’s fantastic that the site is 100% affordable, and residents interested in renting these homes can apply for them in due course. We need more family homes across the borough and it’s great to see these two developments start.”
Laura Carr, Development and Delivery Manager at Home Group, said:
“We are delighted to be involved in the next exciting development as part of the GRP project. The new homes will really benefit High Spen, while the development on Hyde Park Street is a unique one that will serve a much valued community.”
Chaya Spitz, Chief Executive of Agudas Israel Housing Association said:
“All of the partners at GRP have worked really hard to understand and address the housing challenges of Gateshead’s Jewish community, a minority group with distinct needs. The resulting product will be unique and we are delighted to be working with Gateshead Council, Countryside Partnerships and Home Group to achieve something special. Our thanks go to local residents at Adler Housing Association who have cemented a fantastic partnership.”
Gateshead Regeneration Partnership is a joint venture involving Gateshead Council, Countryside Partnerships (formerly Vistry Partnerships) and Home Group. It plans to build over 2,000 new homes on 16 greenfield and brownfield sites across the borough – sharing the risks and rewards of development.
The council has pledged to reinvest any profits from the venture into neighbourhoods to create great places to live now and in the future.
The sites will cover 70 hectares of land and the homes – as well as being among the best insulated and energy-efficient in the UK – will greatly improve the choice of housing available to people wanting to live in Gateshead.
Countryside Partnerships. In November 2022 Countryside Partnerships merged with Vistry Partnerships, to form one of the country’s leading mixed-tenure developers as part of Vistry Group. The combined business is called Countryside Partnerships and incorporates over 40 years’ experience of collaborative working with partners in both the public and private sectors.
In partnership with housing associations, public bodies, landowners and institutional private rental operators, Countryside Partnerships delivers multiple tenures, including affordable homes, build to rent homes and homes for private sale. Countryside Partnerships maintains a strong focus on placemaking, designing places people love to create long-term sustainable communities across the UK, including some of the country’s most complex regeneration and master planned sites.
Bovis Homes – part of Vistry Group – is one of the UK’s leading housebuilding brands, with a portfolio ranging from one and two-bedroom apartments to five and six-bedroom, detached family homes. Properties in Bovis Homes’ latest collection focus on well-proportioned exteriors with a real sense of light and flow on the inside.
Vistry Group is one of the leading housebuilders in the country and delivers thousands of homes every year for both the private and affordable market places. The Group has been awarded the 5 Star Rating by the Home Builders Federation following the latest home building industry’s Customer Satisfaction Survey.
Home Group: With a turnover of over £360m, Home Group is one of the UK’s largest providers of high-quality housing, integrated health and social care.
Home Group supports close to 120,000 customers across 55,000 properties in England, Scotland and Wales, which includes around 26,000 people with mental and physical health issues.
Home Group is on target to reach its goal to build 10,000 new homes by 2022, and is being supported by Persona, its own outright sale arm which it launched in 2018. All profits from Persona are reinvested to build more social and affordable homes.
