Ascot offloads Bootle housing site to Plus Dane
The housing association is drawing up plans for 100 homes on the five-acre site once home to Johnsons the Cleaners’ headquarters.
Plus Dane Housing’s plans for the site are backed by partial funding from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Homes England.
Ascot Group purchased the Stanley Road site in 2017 and it had been remediated a decade earlier.
“This is a substantial deal for Bootle and Plus Dane’s plans will add real value to the neighbourhood,” said a spokesperson for Ascot Group.
“Over the past few years we have been involved in a number of multi-million-pound social housing developments across Cheshire and Merseyside and we’re pleased to have facilitated this latest deal.”
MSB solicitors advised Ascot Group. Trowers & Hamlin advised Plus Dane Housing.
Siobhan Moore, director of growth at Plus Dane, said: “We are pleased that we are now able to move ahead in developing the Stanley Road site, with the support of grant funding from Homes England and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
“It will provide 104 much needed affordable homes for the area; 84 of these will be for social rent and 20 will be shared ownership.”
She added: “We have worked on the deal with Partner Construction, the social housing construction division of United Living, who will be building out the homes for us, and the first phase of 67 homes is expected to start on site in the next few weeks.”
Ascot has agreed the sale of the site once before. In 2021 the developer had Sovini lined up to acquire the plot.
Sovini had applied for permission to build 123 homes on the site but the scheme was rejected by Sefton Council, scuppering the deal.
Ascot appear to be patting themselves on the back here as a facilitator for social-housing, when in fact they`ve been sitting on this land for 7 years, having bought it when it had been idle for a previous 10 years. Let`s hope we are near a conclusion with the City Council regarding the Chinatown site too, as I doudt they will develop it.
Anyway as regards this Plus Dane project I hope it means they can reconfigure the existing building as the flats element of the plans.
By Anonymous
If I’ve read @Anonymous 09:29 correctly, it’s the job of the private sector to take inferior returns to suit the whims of those who don’t take risk themselves, rather than trade their assets at a time that maximises their profit. Good to know. I’ll bear it in mind.
By Very anonymous
I share the sentiment of below, it’s a really important building locally and I hope it is being utilised.
By Heritage Action
I really hope they retain the existing building and convert to flats, the site needs to be permeable and not cut off of have cul-de-sacs. Spacious 4 bed townhouses would work great here.
By GetItBuilt!
About time
By Anonymous
The garage at Hornby road leaves no parking spaces for residents and needs sorting.
By Mrs Pamela Kellett
It’ll be nice to see that site cleaned up, a new housing estate is long overdue. I hope a developer will do the same on the People’s ford site on Linacre lane. It’s one hell of an ugly eyesore now. It’s crying out for development.
By Mike h
Should all be social housing. Our younger generation have no chance getting a mortgage.
Too many people being ripped off by landlords. We need more social housing as well as these
By Lynn Cato
@ 18 Aug. 10am, Social Housing now covers a number of categories, the Housing Associations build for sale, both outright or shared ownership, they also build for rent, but either way some people might not be able to afford the costs. The Councils also build and provide housing but much less than they did many years ago, but even there the rents can be high as well as the service charges. Many older people are living in properties that are too big for them, and many would live in low-rise flats if the concierge service was good. Of course many good council homes were bought under Right to Buy and that’s what people wanted ie to own their home.
By Anonymous
Should be only social housing. Young gen won’t have a chance to private rent or to mortgage in the future
By Anonymous