Harworth buys first North West housing site
Harworth Group has made its first residential land purchase in the North West after snapping up nearly 56 acres at Moss Nook in St Helens from Banks Property Group.
The developer, more known for its logistics offering in the region, particularly at Logistics North, has bought the site for an undisclosed fee after holding it under option for two years.
It already develops housing projects in Yorkshire and the Midlands, but this venture is its first foray into residential in the North West.
The site, around a mile from St Helens town centre, is categorised as brownfield have been used as a colliery. It already has consent for around 900 new homes, and was one of the projects to be allocated funds in the first round of Liverpool’s Single Investment Fund early last year.
Harworth is now looking to bring forward a fresh masterplan for the site, which will generate engineered land parcels for sale to housebuilders. The developer estimates it will take around a decade to built the site out fully.
Owen Michaelson, chief executive of Harworth said: “Having kept a very close eye on numerous potential development opportunities in the North West, I am very pleased that we have now decided to exercise our option to acquire this site. I am confident that we can use our market-leading land regeneration expertise to turn this presently dormant site into a key residential development supporting the delivery of new homes for St Helens and the Liverpool City Region.
“Looking ahead, we remain focused on growing our land bank for residential developments in the North West, which we believe presents a number of exciting opportunities.”
Steven Knowles, regional director for the North West, added: “Our success in delivering Logistics North in Bolton over the past five years reflects the underlying strength of the North West property market, with good economic growth fuelling a strong pipeline of residential and commercial development. The Moss Nook site is well-located and with it already benefitting from an outline planning consent, it is already of strong interest to a range of national and local housebuilders.”
