Sefton Council set to build the borough's first new council homes in 30 years

Innovative plans by developer Sandway Homes Ltd will see the building of the Borough’s first new council homes in almost three decades.

Sefton Council-owned company Sandway Homes’ plans to include council apartments as part of the its Buckley Hill Lane development have been approved by the authority’s Planning Committee.

The development will also contribute to the affordable housing provision on the wider open market housing site.

Construction of the nine council flats will be first to take place in Sefton since the 1990s.

Located in Sefton Grange, the Buckley Hill Lane site on the edge of Netherton will see the construction of 69 new properties. They will be two, three and four-bed homes and one and two-bed apartments, the majority of which will be for sale. The scheme will see the redevelopment of land previously occupied by tower blocks, known as the Z Blocks.

Sandway Homes Ltd.’s new Managing Director Louise Davies welcomed the decision by Sefton Council’s Planning Committee to give the go-ahead for the Buckley Hill Lane site.

Louise, who joined Sandway in May, said:

“This is an exciting period for Sandway Homes Ltd and the construction of these nine, new council apartments at Buckley Hill Lane, the first in Sefton for almost 30 years, makes it a historic one too.

“Our aim is to develop high-quality, mixed-tenure homes, to meet Sefton’s housing requirements. I am pleased to have joined the company at a time when our early developments are taking shape and the next phase of sites are coming on stream.”

In June, Sefton Council’s Cabinet also agreed the disposal of three new sites for development by Sandway Homes. The former Bootle High School site in Netherton, and land at Bentham’s Way and Foul Lane in Southport, will form the second phase of Sandway’s development programme.

Louise continued:

“An important part of Sandway’s business model is to target challenging brownfield sites, in locations where new homes are in high demand to complement other schemes being delivered across the Borough.”

Over the next five years, Sandway Homes’ Business Plan will ensure that Sefton Council receives income from land disposal receipts, with all sites being acquired at full market value. In addition, the Council will receive sales income as well as planning gain through Section 106 and increased Council Tax revenue. And, it will introduce new, high-quality housing in areas of the Borough were new build-homes may have not been provided before.

Louise added:

“Sandway will generate a financial return and added value to the Council through a number of routes. As with any development programme, investment to date has included the pre-construction associated works and obtaining planning consent and financial approval for the Council to raise borrowing in order to invest in this first phase of development.”

Construction of Sandway Homes Ltd.’s first two developments of 78, high-quality two, three & four-bed homes at Sandy Brook, Ainsdale and Barton’s Close, Crossens is already underway. Both schemes include affordable housing as part of the mix, with 25 of the 78 properties allocated for a combination of affordable rent and shared ownership.

With support from Homes England and the Liverpool City Region Brownfield Land Fund, main contractors Barnfield Construction Limited are on site and the groundworks phase for both sites are almost complete. Property handovers are scheduled to commence in early 2022, and the Company and their appointed agent Abode, have received extensive sales interest for the first release of homes.

Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Trish Hardy added:

“Increasingly Councils are turning to development partnerships such as we have created in Sefton and there are some very successful examples of where these far-sighted, symbiotic relationships are working very successfully.

“I look forward to working with Louise, the Sandway Team and a range of partners to continue to provide people in Sefton with high-quality housing, which meets their needs and supports the Council’s ambitious 2030 vision.”