Network Rail is launching a property company to deliver 40,000 homes on unused sites across its estate, the government has announced.
The Barnum in Nottingham, a joint venture between Network Rail and the Bloc Group (picture: Blocwork)
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The owner and operator of much of the railway infrastructure in Britain is teaming up with government-owned developer London and Continental Railways as part of a drive to “release surplus public land” for new homes, the Treasury announced yesterday.
The company will become operational later this year, and a pipeline of four sites has already been announced.
These include 5,000 homes on a 100-acre site at Newcastle Forth Yards; 1,500 homes in Manchester Mayfield, a former station next to Manchester Piccadilly; and a mixed-use scheme in Cambridge with 425 homes.
In Nottingham, there are plans for 200 new homes, following the 348 that were successfully delivered at The Barnum, a complex of apartments next to the railway station.
This was the first scheme by Blocwork, a 50-50 joint venture between Network Rail and developer Bloc Group set up 10 years ago to redevelop redundant sites in the rail authority’s property portfolio.
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor of the exchequer, said: “For too long, surplus government-owned sites have gone underused, but they are a huge untapped resource that could create opportunities for the next generation of homeowners.”
A new taskforce has also been formed to focus on getting unused public land into productive use across the government estate. According to the Treasury, the new partnership approach will explore new delivery models and establish collaborative agreements between the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Homes England, Network Rail and other government bodies.
A partnership in Ripon will be a “trailblazer” for the new approach, and will see an army barracks transferred from the MoD to Homes England to speed up the delivery of 1,300 homes.
A further 1,300 homes will be unlocked by partially releasing land at Chetwynd Barracks, Chilwell, while there are also plans to build thousands of new homes at Wyton airfield in Cambridgeshire.
John Healey, the defence secretary, has identified opportunities to build more than 100,000 homes on surplus military land in future, the Treasury added.
This will include a commitment to build new homes for military families, following the return of Armed Forces housing to public ownership earlier this year.
The Treasury said it would bring in the private sector to get construction started sooner, to help the government meet its target of building 1.5 million homes in its first term.
London and Continental Railways is a wholly government-owned property company for developing former railway land. It is behind projects such as the redevelopment of St Pancras International and King’s Cross station, and the masterplanning of Stratford City.
Angela Rayner, the housing secretary and deputy prime minister, said: “So many working people and families are locked out of the dream of a secure home and this is a direct consequence of the housing crisis we’ve inherited.
“That’s why we’re unlocking public land today for much-needed new housing to help end the housing crisis, deliver 1.5 million homes, and unleash growth as part of our Plan for Change.”
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Picture: Alamy