Merseyside-based affordable housing provider Torus will build 131 rent-to-buy homes on a Brownfield site in Knowsley and provide jobs and training for local people. Tony McDonough reports

Affordable housing provider Torus has secured planning approval for a £23m housing development in Knowsley.

Torus will build 131 two, three and four-bedroom homes on a disused part-brownfield site at the front of Knowsley Lane and Astley Road in Huyton. The houses have been designed by architects Bowker Sadler.

This is the second significant investment Torus has made in Knowsley in the past two years following the group’s RICS award-winning £25m Maples development, which introduced an independent living complex for over 55s, supported living bungalows and affordable family homes to Kirkby.

The Knowsley Lane development of rent-to-buy homes is aimed at people who want to get onto the property ladder without over burdening themselves financially.

The homes will be available at a reduced rent for the first five years, providing the opportunity to save for a deposit. After five years residents will then be able to buy their home outright, or through shared ownership.

Working in partnership with Knowsley Council and the group’s charitable arm, Torus Foundation, Torus will invest financially and socially into Huyton and commit to creating a range of employment and training opportunities for the duration of construction project.

These will include supporting local residents into employment, providing jobs with training, work experience opportunities, health and safety and construction skills courses, and school visits.

Due to start on site before the end of the year and complete in autumn 2022, the development will be supported by the necessary infrastructure to ensure it can be developed without impacting on the surrounding community.

Managing director of Torus Developments, Chris Bowen, said: “After the success of The Maples, investing in the growth of Knowsley continues to be a priority for us as a group and we will continue to build – literally and figuratively – on the works we have started in the area.

“This scheme marks our commitment to bolstering the affordable housing and job market in the area and we will actively be working with local partners to recruit local talent to build the type of houses needed in the area.”