Old Trelleborg factory site given new lease of life with 64 homes

The specialist housing team at the Leeds office of award-winning construction and property consultants, Summers-Inman, has won a framework appointment by Yorkshire Housing to provide Employer’s Agent and Cost Consultancy services on a new housing scheme in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.

The £14 million development comprising a range of 64 two, three and four-bedroom high-quality, affordable family homes, is being built by Yorkshire Housing in partnership with Countryside Partnerships, which only recently merged with Vistry Partnerships at the end of 2022, creating a leading capability across all housing tenures.

Following planning consent in late 2022, the new homes, which will be available across a mix of tenures including social rent, shared ownership and affordable rent, will be built on the former Trelleborg Factory site on Halfpenny Lane, which closed in 2016.

Work started on site in January this year and if all goes according to plan, the scheme will complete in October 2024.

This is just one of several recent appointments secured by Summers-Inman and it follows hard on the heels of places won on further frameworks in the North of England and Scotland, including those of Wakefield District Housing, Thirteen Group, Tyne Housing Group, Bridge Homes and the Wheatley Group in Edinburgh.

Speaking about the consultancy’s recent spate of success, Summers-Inman director and specialist housing lead, David Blakey, said: “We have worked hard to secure places on many frameworks up and down the country in the capacity of Employers Agent, Quantity Surveyor, Project Manager and Principal Designer– all of which are familiar territory for our team. At the present time, the value of the schemes in which we are involved in one or more of these services is in excess of £170m.

“We are delighted with these appointments, many of which promise well for future work. It is a very active sector at a time when the need for affordable housing has never been more keenly felt and we are pleased to be working with Yorkshire Housing and Countryside Partnerships to be able to bring these houses to market.”

“The existing Trelleborg factory was demolished some time ago and the new scheme is designed to create a community feel where residents will be proud to call home.”

Director of development, Yorkshire Housing, Sian Webster added: “It’s great to be teaming up with Countryside and Summers-Inman to deliver high-quality homes that over 60 families will be proud of. We’re committed to creating affordable and sustainable homes with cost effective heating and power at a time when it’s needed more than ever. The scheme also brings us closer to achieving our target of building 8,000 new homes across Yorkshire.”

Andy Poyner, managing director, Yorkshire, Countryside Partnerships. said: “Through our partnerships model we look to reuse land wherever possible, focusing on high quality mixed-tenure developments that deliver positive social impact for those communities with placemaking at the heart of what we do. We’re delighted to be partnering with Yorkshire Housing on this inclusive residential development, which will give local people the opportunity to buy the house of their dreams.”