Kingswood buys land for 79 homes in Lancashire

A reserved matters application for the Hoddlesden site is expected to be submitted in early 2022.

Preston-based Kingswood Homes purchased 7.2 acres from BXB Land Solutions for an undisclosed price. Located off Johnson New Road, the site already has outline approval for 79 homes.

The proposed £20m development would be built on the former home of Vernon Carus Mill, which manufactured fabrics for bandages. The textile mill closed in 2003 and a fire ravaged the site in 2008.

Kingswood said it planned to start work on the site in 2022, pending planning approvals. If all goes well for Kingswood, the company would release the first homes for sale within a year.

“This is a strategic site for us, just five miles from our Green Hills development,” said Kingswood managing director Paul Jones.

“The combination of the pretty village location, strong commuter links and our industry-leading Shape Your Home concept, which gives buyers the power to choose the internal layout that best works for them, means that it’s sure to be a popular choice with buyers.

While it owned the land, BXB worked with Blackburn with Darwen Council on making the brownfield site suitable for development.

“We are pleased that our investment on a brownfield site which has blighted the village of Hoddlesden for a number of years has secured a house building partner that shares our appreciation for high quality place-making,” said BXB land and planning director Gary Goodman.

“Our ability to deliver consented brownfield land to the development sector and remove problematic sites to the benefit of the local community ensures that our investment kickstarts the development process,” Goodman continued.

“Our focus on such sites makes us market leaders in the brownfield regeneration process and enables institutional investment in areas which have suffered from its absence.”