JV formed for 49 Northwich homes

Investor Housing Growth Partnership and housebuilder Oakwood Group have joined forces to deliver a neighbourhood on nearly three acres of brownfield off Manchester Road.

Planning permission for the homes was secured from Cheshire West and Chester Council last year – building from an earlier permission to build 46 homes on the site that had been approved in 2018. Oakwood has already begun work on site.

Of the 49 properties Oakwood is building, 35 will be on the open market, while 14 will be designated affordable. Unit 3 Design Studio is the architect behind the project, whose team also includes TPS Planing and Shape Consulting Engineers.

To enable the delivery of the homes, United Trust Bank is set to contribute a £7.7m debt facility.

The Northwich project marks the first partnership between HGP and the Aintree-based Oakwood. The developer usually funds its own schemes but opted to work with HGP to free up equity for investment in other pipeline projects.

HGP is backed by Lloyds Bank and Homes England. Its mission is to support residential developers in building new homes, which will help address housing affordability concerns.

John McKeon, investment director of HGP, praised his new partner, describing Oakwood as “an ambitious company with a strong track record in the delivery of a high-quality product”.

He added later: “The Northwich site is a great starting point for the relationship, and we look forward to bringing forward more sites with Oakwood in the future.”

Jonathon Ball, managing director of Oakwood, echoed McKeon’s optimism for the joint venture.

“We have been self-funding our projects for several years, but with our plans to expand into taking on multiple larger projects it becomes clear that investment was required to grow sustainably,” Ball said.

“In HGP we have found a great funding partner that understands our vision and goals, and rather than just being interested in return on investment they are supportive in our ambitions and long-term aspirations for our company.”

Those interested in the Northwich project can learn more by exploring the planning applications on the Cheshire West and Chester Council planning portal. The original, 46-home application’s reference number is 16/05349/FUL. The revised, 49-home application’s reference number is 22/01532/NMA.