Construction work begins at new Donnington housing development
Construction work has started at Wild Walk, a new mixed tenure housing development in Telford, which will see delivery of some of the borough’s most low carbon homes built to date.
The development includes 329 new homes being brought forward by a partnership comprising of The Wrekin Housing Group, Telford & Wrekin Council, Nuplace Ltd - the Council’s wholly owned housing company and leading national developer Lovell.
The properties are being built on a 14.85ha brownfield site on land off Donnington Wood Way.
Serving the needs of the local community and in line with the council’s Housing Strategy, which seeks to ensure that all people have access to safe and appropriate housing, this site will see a mix of properties for open market sale, private and affordable rent and Rent to Buy, plus dementia care and supported living units.
The Wrekin Housing Group will be contributing a total of 186 affordable homes to the development – including 20 retirement apartments and a 76-apartment extra care scheme for the over 55s. Wrekin will also deliver an additional 90 homes – including 10 four-bed homes, 45 three-bed homes & 15 two-bed bungalows. All Wrekin homes will be available for affordable rent or via the Government’s ‘Rent to Buy’ scheme.
Wayne Gethings, Group Chief Executive at The Wrekin Housing Group said: “We are delighted that work has started on this development in partnership with Telford & Wrekin Council and Lovell. This is an exciting new project that will not only enhance the area, but will provide much-needed quality, affordable homes for the community. Our new extra care scheme will also help meet the growing demand for older people’s housing in the area. Donnington Wood forms part of our ambitious £170m development programme, which is seeing us develop 1,400 new homes across Telford & Wrekin.”
Wild Walk will lead the way with its low carbon homes with the majority of homes being ultra-efficient exceeding current building regulations.
Homes will include:
- PV technology throughout to generate electricity and PV diverter in appropriate homes to use excess solar energy to heat water.
- Electric Car Charging points (1 for every dwelling and 1 for every 5 within Care Village).
- Upgraded fabric in walls, floor and roof.
- Waste Water Heat Recovery System.
Nuplace will also launch a pilot project where 18 of its 66 homes will be built to Future Homes Standard, three years ahead of the government’s target. These properties will incorporate significant improvements to the fabric of the building delivered through modern methods of construction (MMC), electric heating systems in acknowledgement of the phase out of gas boilers by 2025 and will provide battery storage within the dwellings to store energy for later use, significantly reducing occupier’s fuel bills as well as being operationally low carbon.
Wild Walk will also offer 18 specialist properties by Nuplace which have been designed for wheelchair users, or which are accessible and adaptable to enable independent living.
The specialist homes come in different styles including both bungalows and 3 and 4 bedroom houses. They are all designed to be easy to manage and access, whilst allowing people to live independently in their own home.
Councillor Richard Overton (Lab) Cabinet Member for Housing, Enforcement & Transport said:
“As a council, we have ambitious goals around climate change. We have committed to making our operations carbon neutral by 2030 and we have the same goal for the whole borough so I am delighted that Nuplace and our partners are going above and beyond with the specification of these new homes.
“Nuplace is a huge success story for the Council, with more than 1,000 people living in Nuplace homes across the borough. Our latest site at Southwater Way is fully reserved prior to tenants moving in which shows the demand for these types of properties in Telford and Wrekin.
“We are delighted to be working in partnership with Lovell and The Wrekin Housing Group to bring forward another quality development which serves the needs of the local community ensuring that all people have access to safe and appropriate housing in our borough.”
Stuart Penn, regional managing director at Lovell Partnerships, said: “We’re really pleased to see that work is underway to create 329 much-needed homes for the people of Telford. We’re passionate about creating a difference within the communities in which we work, so we look forward to seeing the homes progress on site and continuing our close work with Telford & Wrekin Council, Nuplace and Wrekin Housing Group to make this new community a reality.”
The council is always looking for ways in which to support local trade and keep the business pound in the borough. This new development is no exception with 65% of construction costs for this site being spent within a 25 mile radius of Telford.
Work is expected to continue at this development until early 2025.
The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) funded a series of enabling works at this development as a part of a £7.685m Stronger Communities funding package via its Growth Deal with Government.
For more information about the development click here
10th February 2022