New builder targets rural sites
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A West Midlands contractor and a consultant have set up a new affordable house building company to target rural sites.
Oakfield Developments, the housebuilding arm of contractor C J Furey, and Ben Hudson, former head of residential development at CBRE in Birmingham, have launched Revitalise Homes.
The company wants to buy rural exception sites for development across the north, midlands and south west of England. Exception sites are not set aside for development in local plans but developers can get exceptional planning consent if schemes meet local needs, are welcomed by local people and near village boundaries. They are usually cheaper than ordinary sites with planning permission because of the restrictions involved.
John Furey, commercial director of Revitalise Homes, said he believed the government’s stance on exception sites was ‘softening’ but he declined to say how much he had to spend on buying land. He said: ‘We are trying to pre-empt any change that might happen in law and if it does we are in a position to take advantage.’
Buyers would purchase a fixed share in a home and could not staircase by buying more shares later. The share size would be set by the local authority but would not exceed 80 per cent. The company would retain the remainder.
The firm is applying for planning permission for a scheme of 10 homes on a site near the village of Hanley Swan in Malvern.
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Readers' comments (1)
Development Diva | 21/09/2009 2:31 pm
Interesting that a construction firm are interested in buying and building exception sites - which most wouldn't have touched (or even known what it was!!!) with a barge-pole until the market makes a turn like it has over the last 24 months!
I think there may be some hard lessons coming their way - and the odd Planning Appeal.
Lets hope the LA policy requires the same standards of build and management as they would from the RSL's that have proven their worth by delivering such sites in the past. The last thing any community needs (rural or otherwise) is affordable housing without a management company with a long term interest in the "wider community".
I watch with interest how local communities and Parish Councils react to this.
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