Countryside kicks off Blackburn housing
Work has started on a 377-home project in the Higher Croft area of the Lancashire town, where the developer will work with Together Housing Group and Sigma Capital.
The £20m Brookfield Vale project will be delivered across three parcels of land by Fishmoor Drive and Roman Road, Blackburn with Darwen Council having sold two of the sites to enable development – Together owned the third plot.
Around 70 houses will be allocated as affordable homes, to be delivered by Together, while a further 154 houses will be available through Sigma Capital’s private rental brand Simple Life.
A regular partner of Countryside’s, Sigma is also to operate the rented housing elements within the housebuilder’s Millbank Lock development in Partington, Trafford, and at the redevelopment of the Spectra Packaging site into the £23.7m Rivers Edge in Warrington. In all, Sigma will take on 402 homes across the three developments.
The remaining 154 homes at Brookfield Vale will be designated for open market sale. The development area includes the sites of a former school and the vacated Higher Croft Vocational Centre. Countryside is to invest £395,000 into local education initiatives as part of the project.
Kevin Ruth, chief executive of Together Housing Group, said: “The regeneration of the sites at Fishmoor is a project we are proud to deliver alongside Countryside and our other partners.
“The project will benefit the area in many ways, by providing affordable quality homes, a good mix of tenure choices to meet a variety of housing needs, create employment opportunities and lift the appearance of the area.”
Work started on site this month, with the first completions expected in September.
