Peel and Urban Splash sign deal at Wirral Waters

Peel L&P and Urban Splash have exchanged contracts for their £55m housing venture at Wirral Waters, bringing Splash’s modular homes concept to Merseyside for the first time.

The venture was first trailed in March last year, but both parties have now signed a contract to allow the project to go ahead. Worth around £55m, this will see 347 homes built at the site.

Urban Splash will bring four different products to Wirral Waters – House, Mansion House, Villa, and Fab House. Each of these has the potential to be customised by purchasers before being created in a factory and delivered to site.

The company has already delivered its modular concept at sites in Birmingham, Salford, Manchester, and North Shields, and is currently planning its fifth site in Manchester’s New Islington this year. Other sites in the pipeline include Milton Keynes and Walsall.

While the deal between Urban Splash and Peel has been formally signed, Richard Mawdsley, director of development at Peel L&P, said a start on site was dependent on securing Housing Infrastructure Fund money from the Government. This is understood to be around £6m.

“This development, which follows hot on the heels of our announcement last month about a £90m residential scheme comprising of 500 high-quality homes along Northbank, will transform the site into an internationally recognised destination with a residential quarter that will take the pressure off local greenbelts and help to tackle the current UK housing crisis,” he said.

“We’re now just waiting on the final piece of the jigsaw, securing a Housing Infrastructure Fund grant from Homes England. Only then can we finally get the first wave of housing underway at Wirral Waters.”

The deal is the second housing scheme to move forward at the site following the approval of Wirral Waters One in December last year; this features 500 homes and is worth around £90m.

Peel, which is bringing forward the project alongside the council and fellow developer Legacy, previously set an August 2019 start date for the scheme, but last month warned there was “still work to do” before construction could begin.

Jonathan Falkingham, founder and creative director at Urban Splash, added: “This is another part of our ambitious plan to expand our modular housing business and follows our acquisition of the House factory earlier this year.

“We are keen to create well-designed, urban family homes in more cities across the country. Merseyside, which was the birthplace of Urban Splash 25 years ago, seems the perfect place to move forward.

“We are delighted to be working with Peel L&P and to be involved in the creation of yet another significant, large-scale community and to continue developing and investing in Merseyside.”

Cllr Phil Davies, leader of Wirral Council, said: “Almost every week we are seeing new developments come forward – new homes, retail and commercial schemes are being planned in every corner of our borough. These developments are concrete proof of the huge confidence in Wirral and the Liverpool City Region as a place to invest and do business.

“This latest news from Wirral Waters, coming so soon after the recent announcements of new residential, care and office developments on the site, is further proof of Wirral’s growing importance in the Northern Powerhouse.

“Combined with our own plans for development through Wirral Growth Company, it is clear that it is an exciting time for Wirral.”

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If this delivers great looking buildings and enhances the skyline further it will be very welcome.

By Man on a bicycle

Munich, a horrible city to visit and live in, like most northern and central European cities (Víenna, Zurich, Copenhagen, Salzburg, Nuremburg, Cologne, Basel ad infinitum ) who do not realize the wonder of Lego tower blocks, and equally mad, the citizens of Munich in a city referendum (no idea of real first-past-the-post democracy either) decreed in 2002 that no new building may be higher than the town hall (95 meters) across the entire city. No wonder nobody visits or lives in the place, and officers workers head straight home to their homes in the outer suburbs and countryside. Manchester city always was an office, warehouse and factory center surrounded by homes for the poor. A few Lego tower blocks will not change that.

By James Yates

Peel and Splash talking big plans again, dependent on a good slug of free public money from Homes England. We’ll see.

By John Smith

Is Jim from the USA. His spelling indicates so?

By Russell Bolton

Spot on John Smith.

By bday

Sounds great but when are we going to see bigger numbers at Wirral Waters with infrastructure and job creation?

The constant delay and need for last pieces of the jigsaw are threatening green belt on the Wirral.

WBC and peel need to commit and stop messing around threatening to release green belt for unwanted and unneeded additional shoeboxes.

Where is the tech park and infrastructure investments?

Wirral planning has failed with the two main roads now fully saturated and crumbling. Who is going to improve the roads before all these extra shoeboxes are added to our green belt?

Where are all the extra residents going to work?

Let’s be honest peel know the sales figures achievable on the Wirral which is why it will be a slow burn over 30 years. Why then do we have to shoe horn in 12500 house in 15 years? It’s ridiculous.

By M Thomas

The best way forward is for the Wirral to break away from Merseyside. Merseyside is Liverpool working for Liverpool.

By Heswall

@Heswall Ye’h right ! Liverpool is the biggest promotion for the Wirral (Liverpool City Region) and has benefited through jobs European funding etc the list is endless New Brighton would have not been re developed only for the Liverpool City Region or Wirral Waters

By Stephen

Wirral is not a City it’s Liverpool’s left bank

By Stephen

Wirral is part of Liverpool culturally and economically and always has been. Merseyside is a geo-political term that was always flexible and stretched well beyond Wirral. The term is used in the 19th century to cover settlements right around the Mersey and far inland.

By Roscoe

@STEPHEN. Liverpool is a self made sinking ship and Wirral has sunk with it. Liverpool has always been its own worst enemy. The LCR is a good idea for Liverpool but it is a disaster for the rest of us.

By Prenton Park 1912

What you talking about Liverpool is thriving?

By Stephen

This and lots others could have happened decades ago, had we not been tied to the squabblers and squanderers on the other side.

By Dee Dee

Roscoe – I feel no affinity culturally or politically to Liverpool. We are different people and viewed as different by those in Liverpool. Only when Liverpool wants to increase its size and population, does The Wirral come to thought. We are not scousers.

By Anonymous

Totally agree M Thomas at 8:19pm.

By Big Daz

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