Miller Homes picked for The Rock

Miller Homes has been appointed to deliver the first two blocks of residential accommodation at the £350m The Rock development due to open in Bury in July.

Miller Homes will complete 113 apartments of the 408 one and two bedroom apartments situated above the retail element of the 620,000 sq ft mixed use scheme.

The first homes to be delivered are above the 77,166 sq ft Marks & Spencer store and overlook the newly created St John's Square.

The retail and leisure element of The Rock will open on 16 July bringing new brands such as Debenhams, Primark, Pizza Express and a Vue cinema to Bury for the first time.

Miller Homes has begun the fit out of the apartments and the first phase will be released for sale on 16 July.

Miller Homes, which is part of the Miller Group, has said prices are to be confirmed closer to the opening and that they will be competitively priced to appeal to the local market and attract new home buyers into the town centre.

David Laycock, centre director, The Rock, said: "The regeneration of The Rock was conceived as a town centre mixed-use scheme and the residential element is vital to this. We have an extremely strong retail and leisure line up and the apartments create an additional vibrancy to the town centre. We are pleased that Miller Homes has been selected to deliver the apartments, providing people with all the benefits of urban living with the added opportunity to enjoy views over a spectacular scheme and across the Northern Pennines."

Peter Vella, Miller Homes sales director, added: "The Rock is the largest retail, leisure and residential redevelopment scheme to open in the UK in 2010 and will raise the profile of Bury to compete with Manchester and Leeds city centres. Miller Homes is delighted to have secured the first residential element and to have named this 'Miller Homes @ The Rock' to reflect the lifestyle vision promised by the imaginative variety of apartments available."

Miller Homes is a privately-owned housebuilder and since 1934 has completed over 75,000 homes. Completed schemes in the region include 154 new homes and apartments at its Miller Brook development in Tottington and 18 apartments at its Norden Lodge in Norden, both completed in 2006.

Hammerson stepped in for Thornfield Properties as developer of the shopping scheme in January after Halifax Bank of Scotland put subsidiary Thornfield Ventures into administration.

Thornfield Bury, a separate entity to Thornfield Properties which owns the residential section of the scheme, appointed Miller Homes through the administrators.

The Rock was designed by BDP and is being built by Laing O'Rourke. Agents on The Rock are GCW, CBRE and Nick Green & Co.

A public open day is being held at shopping and leisure development on Sunday from 11am, prior to its official opening in July.