English Partnerships names developers to deliver major housing growth in Telford

05/10/05

National regeneration agency, English Partnerships has named the developers who will deliver one of England’s largest new communities, at Lawley in Telford, in a project worth £500m of investment.

George Wimpey UK, Persimmon Homes and Barratt Homes have been appointed after making a joint bid to develop the 70ha site. The Lawley scheme will see some 3,300 homes being built, along with offices, restaurants, bars, a primary school, parkland and shops.

A quarter of the planned homes will be affordable housing, split between shared ownership and social rented.

The new community will account for about a fifth of the new homes that Telford needs over the next decade. Work on the development — all on brownfield or previously developed land — is due to start by mid-2006.

Speaking at the agency’s annual Open Meeting, Chairman Margaret Ford, said: "The winning developers are some of the country’s most successful house builders. They have shown that they have the vision and ambition to make sure this project reaches its full potential.

"Lawley will be one of Britain’s most significant and exciting urban developments. It will set national standards on how a large sustainable community can be designed, created and integrated with an existing town.

"Just as important is the thinking behind the project. The development will attract people from a wide range of incomes, ages and households. Local people have played a major part in shaping Lawley’s foundations, and they will continue to have a big say in how it develops. We want them to have a genuine sense of pride and ownership in the community they’ve helped create."

Lawley will consist of four new neighbourhoods — Newdale Valley, Lawley Village, Lawley Bank and Newdale — each with a distinct character. At their heart will be Lawley Square — the local social, business, shopping and transport centre.

Lawley will be the biggest scheme in England to make use of design codes, which have been pioneered by English Partnerships. The codes provide a flexible framework to ensure quality development that meets a community’s needs. Drawn up after intensive public workshops held over two years, the codes cover issues as diverse as the amount of space needed for bins to how far people should have to walk to local shops, parks and the new school.

A spokesman for the developers said: "This is wonderful news, and allows us to build on our relationship with English Partnerships. This was a demanding tender because Lawley is such an innovative project, not only in its scale but in the ground–breaking way it has been devised, with people put clearly at its heart.

"We’re very aware that we’re not just building houses, but creating a community."

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