Spades in the ground at Spinning Gate development in Davyhulme, Trafford
Manchester based Trafford Housing Trust (THT) and leading London housing association London and Quadrant (L&Q) have begun work on the first housing scheme under their landmark 50/50 joint venture (JV).
Executives from Trafford Housing Trust and L&Q were joined by representatives of the Homes and Communities Agency, Trafford Council and local MP Kate Green at a ground-breaking event at Spinning Gate in Davyhulme to mark the launch of the JV and work starting on site.
The Spinning Gate development is developed under THT’s Laurus Homes development brand and will consist of 45 apartments for Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy.
The development displays the Trust’s ‘profit for purpose’ policy in action. Spinning Gate is the result of several successful Laurus Homes market sale schemes from which profits have been used to re-invest in development, including affordable housing projects that deliver much needed new homes in Trafford and increasingly across the North West.
Spinning Gate, which has received £1.2m funding from the Homes and Communities Agency, is scheduled for completion in April 2018. It is the first of many similar projects planned under the pioneering partnership between the Trust and L&Q to deliver 2,000 new homes across Greater Manchester and the North West over the next four years.
L&Q is one of the UK’s leading housing associations and one of London’s largest residential developers. It owns or manage over 90,000 homes in London and the South East. L&Q also build high-quality homes to meet a range of needs and incomes.
Larry Gold, deputy chief executive of Trafford Housing Trust, commented: “It’s very exciting to see the first spade in the ground as a result of our collaboration with L&Q, and even more so that we see our profit-for-purpose approach bringing affordable housing for Trafford residents.
“Over the coming years, we hope to speed up the building of new homes across the North West with our partners, and from applying profit-for-purpose. The Spinning Gate development is an excellent place to start.
“Trafford Housing Trust sees its role as more than simply a developer, we have a wider responsibility to create places where people want to live and that process builds sustainable communities.”
Jerome Geoghegan, Group Director of Development and Sales at L&Q, said: “Today’s ground-breaking at the Nag’s Head site is an exciting milestone in our innovative partnership with Trafford Housing Trust.
“We entered into a 50/50 joint venture to deliver more homes more quickly than we could have done individually. L&Q brings strong financial capacity and development expertise to the partnership; THT brings its own financial strength, alongside local knowledge and an outstanding track record of delivering quality developments across Greater Manchester and the North West.
“All the profits from our partnership with THT will be reinvested in the North West. This will enable larger, more complex projects to be delivered in an area of the country that is crying out for more high quality homes.”
The Spinning Gate site is close to local landmark The Nag’s Head public house and was historically a bowling green and, more recently, the premises of a second-hand car dealership. It overlooks Kingsway Park and is located two minutes’ drive from the M60 and one mile away from the intu Trafford Centre.
Trafford Housing Trust has Development Partner status with the Homes and Communities Agency and was the first housing association to access funding from the £300m Greater Manchester Housing Investment Fund.
Future projects will expand the Trust’s footprint beyond Trafford to other parts of Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Derbyshire.
