Onward’s Crewe scheme revived with Lovell
Stalled in 2023 when original contractor Lane End entered administration, the housing association’s 139-home first phase at Signaller’s Croft will now be delivered by Lovell.
Onward Homes’ project started on site in 2021 but stalled two years ago when Lane End Developments went into administration.
Work has now resumed, following the signing of an agreement between Onward and Lovell, part of the Morgan Sindall group, with the first homes inked in for delivery next year.
A mix of affordable tenures will be provided at the East Basford development, including rent-to-buy and shared ownership.
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Tahreen Shad, regional partnerships director for Lovell in the North West, said: “This new collaboration marks the exciting restart of a major development that will bring quality affordable homes to the Basford area of Crewe.
“The area is familiar to Lovell, having successfully delivered 99 homes in 2023 just over a mile away at Weston Woods. We understand the importance of building at scale and pace to meet local housing needs and will be using innovative timber frame construction to accelerate delivery.”
Onward said that it remains committed to delivering the long-term overall plan for up to 449 homes at Signaller’s Croft over the coming years, including homes for open market sale.
Work is underway once again at Signaller’s Croft. Credit: Paul Currie
The deal with Lovell builds on an existing relationship, which is currently delivering 66 affordable homes at the former Foxfield school site in Wirral.
Funding for this first phase at Signaller’s Croft is being delivered through Onward’s partnership with Homes England, which is supporting the housing association to build 5,000 new homes by 2030.
Sandy Livingstone, executive director of property at Onward, said: “We are very pleased to restart activity at Signaller’s Croft with our partner Lovell, a national builder of quality homes. Lovell shares our vision to boost the choice and supply of quality homes in Cheshire East and has a proven track record of successfully delivering schemes at the scale and to the standards our customers expect.
“Our commitment to deliver hundreds of affordable homes for people in the Crewe area has never wavered. We look forward to creating a vibrant place filled with modern homes that are both affordable for local people to rent or buy, and affordable to run in the long term.”
Consent was granted for the scheme in 2020.
