Transforming housing quality and choice

Work has begun on the second of two new housing schemes, transforming the quality and choice of homes across Gateshead.

A development of 49 family homes is to be built by Gateshead Regeneration Partnership (GRP), on the site of the former Hookergate School, at High Spen.

All will be available for open market sale and the project is also supporting the development of new affordable housing elsewhere.

GRP has already started work on 62 affordable homes at Hyde Park Street, in Bensham – all for rent or shared ownership – with 20 of the 62 specially designed for the local Jewish community.

The cross-funding initiative between the sites demonstrates the objectives of the GRP, which has a mission to improve housing quality and choice, create economic uplift and enhance community cohesion.

So far, the joint venture involving Gateshead Council, Vistry North East and registered housing provider Home Group, has delivered 570 homes across 10 sites. It is also providing job and training opportunities – a minimum of 25% of which go to local people – and commits to spend a quarter of the supply budget with businesses within the borough.

The partnership has plans to deliver a further 169 homes over the next 12 months and is currently building at the Freight Village development, close to Gateshead town centre, at Trilogy III in Bensham and at The Cedars in Birtley.

Councillor Chris Buckley, cabinet member for housing at Gateshead Council, said:

“The Gateshead Regeneration Partnership is really transforming sites across the borough. These new homes in High Spen, along with the GRP homes in Bensham, are providing high quality, sustainable homes fit for the future.”

Work on all developments is being carried out by Vistry North East, which is part of Vistry Group – the UK’s leading provider of affordable mixed tenure homes.

Vistry North East believes the three, four and five bedroomed High Spen properties present the ideal opportunity to introduce the Bovis Homes brand – which will market the new homes for sale – to the region.

Sean Egan, managing director with Vistry North East, said:

“We are delighted to see construction at the former school site begin and look forward to delivering these high quality and much needed family homes. The excellent location and setting make this the ideal place to introduce our Bovis Homes brand to the North East. I’m sure it will prove popular with buyers.

“It is also a real positive that the sale of these homes will support the creation of new affordable rented homes close to the centre of Gateshead, improving the choice and standard of housing options in the Bensham area.”

Laura Hattrick, senior development and delivery manager, at Home Group, said:

“The Gateshead Regeneration Partnership goes from strength to strength. And we are delighted to be part of it, delivering much needed homes in the borough.

“The variety and tenure of the homes we have built to date reflect the needs across the borough. It is great to see homes for sale now being offered to those who need them, while the proceeds go to develop more affordable homes for people in the region.”

ABOUT

Gateshead Regeneration Partnership is a joint venture involving Gateshead Council, Vistry North East (part of Vistry Group) 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.

Vistry Group is the UK’s leading provider of affordable mixed tenure homes. Its purpose, as a responsible developer, is to work in partnership to deliver sustainable homes, communities and social value, leaving a lasting legacy of places people love. It is a young and dynamic business with a partnerships-led approach, driving towards net zero carbon emissions.

Delivering thousands of homes every year for the affordable and private marketplaces, Vistry Group also has an unmatched portfolio of retail brands, each with a rich history and strong reputation: Linden Homes, Bovis Homes and Countryside Homes.

It is a multi-award winning housebuilder and the group has again been awarded the 5 Star Rating by the Home Builders Federation following the latest industry’s Customer Satisfaction Survey.

For more information go to www.vistrygroup.co.uk.

Home Group is one of the UK’s largest providers of housing, health and care, employing around 3,500 colleagues. We provide homes for over 125,000 customers across 60,000 properties in England and Scotland, and in the last year delivered support to around 11,000 people with mental and physical health issues.

The North-East based social enterprise, set up in 1935, has a strategic goal to build ‘the right homes in the right places’, 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.