A landmark joint venture involving Warwickshire County Council is driving transformative and sustainable development in Warwickshire.
Having already completed fifteen homes in Warton and aiming to deliver 2,000 homes across the county by 2025.
Develop Warwickshire, a joint venture between Warwickshire County Council, Warwickshire Property and Development Group (WPDG) and Vistry Group, has already completed fifteen homes in Warton, just two years after receiving planning consent in February 2023 and is expecting to complete all 71 homes by the end of 2025.
The partnership was formed to accelerate projects and designed to enable the joint venture to be agile and move quickly with its plans to build an initial 2,000 homes across the county.
In two years, it has achieved planning permissions across two sites for more than 600 homes, started work on those two sites, completed its first 15 homes and seen residents move in and support 18 projects through its community fund.
Councillor Peter Butlin, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Finance and Property, said: “We are extremely proud of the Develop Warwickshire partnership between Vistry, Warwickshire Property and Development Group and Warwickshire County Council. Our award-winning and innovative venture has achieved so much over the last two years and is key to the Council’s ambition to make the most of the County’s assets for the benefit of local people and local communities.
“Through Develop Warwickshire we are delivering on our long-term vision to create sustainable, high-quality, and affordable new homes that really enhance our county making it an attractive place to live and do business, and I look forward to seeing it go from strength to strength in the future.”
Since achieving planning consent on its first scheme, Develop Warwickshire has celebrated the completion of fifteen homes at Brookmill Meadows in Warton, the start of work on its largest site Milby Meadows in Nuneaton and has seen a series of important community projects benefit from its community fund.
Brookmill Meadows, a development of 71 homes in Warton, North Warwickshire, was the first scheme to start on site and it welcomed its first residents in the summer of 2024, with work expected to be completed on all the homes later this year.
Samuel Ward was one of the first residents at the development. He said: “What drew us to this house was the size of the main bedroom as well as the windows. The ones in the kitchen are amazing – it’s gorgeous how much light they let in.”
Work is also continuing at Milby Meadows, at Top Farm on the edge of Nuneaton, which when completed will comprise of 1,700 homes and create a new sustainable community.
Develop Warwickshire started work on the scheme last summer delivering a 1.5km link road which unlocked a £30 million Department for Education secondary school and work starting on the first 51 homes.
In December, plans for 479 homes in the second phase of delivery were approved which has now commenced onsite with sales office opening in May.
The scheme features a mix of property sizes, types and tenures, including 25 per cent designated as affordable housing to be managed by Platform Housing Group.
All homes built have high sustainability with timber framed construction, Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, EV Chargers, Waste Water Recovery and Air Source Heats pumps with the aim that all homes have an Energy Performance Certificate A.
Phil McHugh, Divisional Director of Vistry Partnerships, said: “I am extremely proud to be part of Develop Warwickshire’s story over the past two years. It is a shining example of how partnership working can deliver much-needed housing across a mix of tenures to meet the diverse housing needs in Warwickshire.
“At Vistry, we are committed to creating sustainable communities of high-quality homes like those in Warton and Nuneaton and making them accessible to people from all walks of life.”
Develop Warwickshire has also been having a positive impact on communities in North Warwickshire and Nuneaton by supporting local projects through its community fund.
A total of 18 projects have been awarded grant funding since it launched in December 2023, ranging from youth organisations and local schools to volunteer groups and community clubs.
Groups and organisations can apply for up to £2,000 grant funding or in-kind support, with the total annual fund comprised of £25,000 in cash and £25,000 work in-kind from the joint venture partners.
Nuneaton North Scout Group received grant funding. The group traces its roots back 110 years and includes 70 members and 15 leaders, with its leaders, trustee board and committee members all being volunteers.
It has been a fantastic experience working with the teams at WPDG and WCC, having a shared vision for new communities between all three parties really makes it an easy Joint Venture to be part off.
Clare Hearnden, Group Chairman, said: “We needed better access to the loft area which we use as an equipment store, as it was a real difficulty and would sometimes put us off hosting events which required the equipment stored up there.
“Through the grant, we have been able to expand the hatch and give the loft safe step access, which means that our young people and leaders can now safely access the area.”
WPDG was formed in 2021 by Warwickshire County Council to realise the full potential of the Council’s development sites, commercial buildings and mineral rights across the county.
Stuart Buckley, Managing Director at WPDG, said that Develop Warwickshire has had a strong start and is delivering exactly what the joint venture set out to do.
“We had ambitious plans when launching Develop Warwickshire and since achieving our first planning consent in February 2023, work has continued at pace to turn those plans into tangible results,” he said.
“Develop Warwickshire is efficiently delivering high-quality homes at scale across the region. The work so far has provided the foundations for sustainable communities across North Warwickshire and Nuneaton.
“This is only the beginning for the joint venture, with a third development in the pipeline and work continuing at Milby Meadows, as we continue to bring forward schemes which will provide long-term benefits to the County and its residents.”