Housebuilder Redrow will build up to 730 new homes in Liverpool city region after acquiring two sites and is also pledging up £7.3m to improve the local community. Tony McDonough reports

Housebuilder Redrow is to build up to 730 new homes in Merseyside after acquiring two sites totalling 90 acres.

And the company has pledged to up to contribute £7.3m towards improvements in the local community including new health and dental care facilities, sports provision and training opportunities.

Redrow has bought two parcels of land in the Halewood area. One is off Lower Road with plans in place to build 196 new homes and outline planning for a up to a further 386 homes. And a second site, off Greensbridge Lane, has approval for 148 homes.

They will be delivered by Redrow’s Lancashire division, which covers areas within the old boundaries of Lancashire, including parts of Merseyside and Cheshire. The Chorley-based operation has plans to grow its pipeline of developments over the next 12 months.

Claire Jarvis, managing director for Redrow (Lancashire), said: “Our new sites form part of the East Halewood Sustainable Extension – a masterplan to provide high quality new homes in the local area with a vision statement to ‘be the most sought after and significant scheme of its type in the south of the city region.

“Halewood already benefits from excellent connectivity to the major north west hubs of Liverpool and Manchester. Our development will form part of a new and sustainable community being created, with a character to match the high quality of its homes, and access to outstanding local facilities.

Lea Hough advised the land owners throughout the process from negotiation of the option agreement through to the sale of the land to Redrow. The homes Redrow will build will be from its Heritage Collection.

The larger southern site will comprise one, two and three-bedroom apartments and three and four-bedroom terraced, semi-detached and detached properties. The northern site will feature three, four and five-bedroom detached houses, averaging 1,450 sq ft. A quarter of the total number of homes will be affordable properties to meet local need.

Redrow plans to start preparation works on site this summer with construction work due to start on the new homes in the autumn. The properties should go on sale in early 2022 with the first homes ready to move into in summer 2022.  The development is expected to take between five and seven years to complete.

As part of the planning agreement, Redrow will make contributions of up to £7.3m towards improvements in the local community, including:

• Up to £58,400 towards off site healthcare and dental facilities.
• Up to £567,210 for improvements and maintenance at Finch Woods.
• Up to £608,090 for provision of nursery and childcare places.
• Up to £2,754,400 towards primary school places.
• Up to  £636,560 to improve outdoor sports facilities at Halewood Leisure Centre.
• Up to £51,100 to provide employment and training opportunities for local residents.
• Up to £365,000 for local bus services.
• Up to £2,438,200 for highways improvements.