Top 10 UK housebuilder, Keepmoat, is investing more than £52 million into a housing regeneration scheme at disused land off Soothill Lane in Batley - regenerating 30 acres of land.
The 319-strong development, now named ‘The Orchards’, represents a multimillion pound investment into the regeneration of the West Yorkshire town, which has already benefited from one phase of development – 300 of the 319 homes will be delivered using modern methods of construction (MMC), with the entirety of the site planned to be built using timber frame.
MMC is a process that focuses on off-site construction techniques, such as volume production through efficient factory prefabrication, as an alternative to traditional labour-intensive on-site construction.
Image: Keepmoat - The Orchards
The second phase of the development will create a further 234 homes, delivering affordable properties with support from local housing provider Incommunities, Leeds Federated and Kirklees Council.
The start on site for phase two of the regeneration project is scheduled just weeks after the first phase was shortlisted for ‘Project at the Year’ at the National Building and Construction Awards.
Chris Clingo, Regional Managing Director at Keepmoat, Yorkshire West, said: “We’re thrilled to be continuing delivery under our strategic partnership model to build quality, sustainable homes for the latest phase in this regeneration project.
“As we continue to deliver fantastic neighbourhoods, we can see new communities begin to flourish at The Orchards, which is wonderful to witness. We’re also extremely proud to be contributing more than £564,000 to education and £63,719 for public open space support as part of this project.”
This additional investment from the housebuilder will create local school spaces and contribute to delivering green, open spaces for the community to enjoy.
Aimee Law Director of Development and Regeneration at Incommunities added: “The success of phase one at The Orchards, where we delivered 36 homes, shows the positive impact affordable housing has on creating thriving, balanced communities.
“Our customers who have already moved in are delighted with the quality of their homes. We’re hoping for lots more happy customers in phase two where we’ll be offering 29 Affordable Rent homes and 21 Shared Ownership homes.
“We will deliver many new, high quality affordable homes in West Yorkshire over the next 12 months, and our strategic partnership with Keepmoat is key to achieving this and we’re excited to be working with them again.”
Keepmoat is a top 10 UK partnership homebuilder with a track-record of delivering quality new homes across the UK at prices people can afford. To date, almost 70% of its current developments are on brownfield sites.
