Wirral 66-home development given green light
Lovell Partnerships, in partnership with Onward Homes, is to build on the former Fox Field School site off Douglas Drive in Moreton, with work to start in April.
Wirral has now granted permission for the development of brownfield land left vacant in 2018 when the old school was demolished. A new school was built on New Hey Road in Woodchurch in 2015.
The project will see the building of a mix of terraced and semi-detached two and two-and-a-half storey affordable homes with two-, three-, and four-bedrooms.
All the homes are being made available on a variety of tenures. A total of 16 new homes will be let as rent-to-buy, 34 homes will be sold via shared ownership and 16 homes will be made available for affordable rent through Onward.
DK Architects has led on the scheme’s design while Stantec is the planning consultant.
Tahreen Shad, regional partnerships director at Lovell, said: “This is a site that has been left vacant for some time, since the school was demolished in 2018.
“We are committed to helping meet housing demand in the region by providing affordable homes for local people and bringing brownfield sites back into use.”
Shad added: “We expect to start on site in April and look forward to delivering a range of sustainable design measures included in our plans, such as high performing insulation and low energy fittings.
“We are also keen to prioritise a vibrant and cohesive green environment for residents.”
The site is one of six areas earmarked for housing development in the Moreton and Woodchurch areas of the peninsula under the council’s emerging local plan.
The purchase of the site has been funded through Onward’s strategic partnership with Homes England, the government’s housebuilding and regeneration agency.
Stephen Heverin, director of growth and regeneration at Onward Homes, said: “We are excited to be working in partnership with Lovell, delivering a wide range of new,
affordable homes to meet a growing demand in this part of the Wirral.
“As well as providing more affordable rental options in the area, these modern homes will also help people in the area to access their local property ladder and put down firm roots,
where they may otherwise have felt priced out of home ownership.”
Shad added: “Projects such as this are a testament to the power of collaboration in supporting housing needs, and we look forward to strengthening our relationship with Wirral Council and helping to unlock more sites in the region.”
Lovell, which is part of Morgan Sindall, has worked on several Wirral Council-owned sites in Tranmere and Rock Ferry in the past two decades.
This scheme follows the completion of a multi-million-pound regeneration of the former Fiveways estate in Rock Ferry, which delivered 283 homes in partnership with Wirral Council and Riverside. The final handover took place in December last year.
Lovell also handled the Fountain Court development in Tranmere, a market housing renewal site which delivered 75 homes in another venture with the council.
Onward recently announced its first ever carbon zero homes will also be built in Wallasey at Greenleas Close, in partnership with Wirral Waters-based modular housebuilder Starship.
The housing association already owns or manages 1,600 homes on the Wirral, with more than 35,000 homes across Merseyside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
To see the plans for the Fox Field site, search for reference number APP/23/01524 on Wirral Council’s planning portal.
