County Durham development specialist Hargreaves Land has acquired a major site in North Lincolnshire to trigger the creation of thousands of new homes as well as the potential for employment, community and leisure space,
The regeneration and property development company has exchanged contracts with site receivers Watling Real Estate for the conditional purchase of a 550-acre plot of land at the Lincolnshire Lakes site in Gunness, near Scunthorpe.
Over 1,150 new homes are set to be created at the site over the next 15 years, as part of a major master-developer partnership. The partnership also includes the potential for a new Advanced Manufacturing Park to be brought forwards on part of the site by Hargreaves Land – a subsidiary of Durham based AIM-listed Hargreaves Services plc.
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A 65-acre section of the site has been given a strategic allocation in North Lincolnshire’s emerging Local Plan to accommodate potential for the development of a carbon-neutral Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP), which could provide space for emerging businesses, alongside research and development institutions, including those within the clean energy sector.
New construction jobs will be created or safeguarded when enabling infrastructure work by Hargreaves gets under way, followed by the potential for thousands more in the future as new businesses are created at Lincolnshire Lakes, and existing employers relocate to the site.
Lincolnshire Lakes is expected to be one of the largest residential development schemes in the region and forms part of a wider strategic regeneration project set to transform the overall area, which will also include delivery of a new primary school, district centre and extensive areas of public open space. The scheme will be masterplanned by Hargreaves within placemaking principles of a sustainable ‘20 minute neighbourhood’.
David Travis, development director at Hargreaves Land, said: “Lincolnshire Lakes is a very exciting investment for Hargreaves Land, reflecting our track record and continued focus in successfully delivering large-scale placemaking schemes throughout the UK. This includes our involvement in the on-going development of Unity, another large-scale mixed-use development in South Yorkshire which has a lot of similar constraints, where we are working with joint venture partner Waystone Developments to ensure project success. This deal represents a significant milestone for our overall growth as a business, and we look forward to delivering sustainable development on site over the next few years.”
Zoe Shearman, development surveyor at Hargreaves Land, added: “This moment represents the culmination of several months of hard work by our internal team and external consultants, and we now look forwards to progressing planning and marketing workstreams on the site as proactively as possible, with a view to facilitating our first phases of serviced residential plot disposals to housebuilders in the near future.”
Andrew Foster, joint managing director at Watling Real Estate, said: “This is a very innovative solution to progress development for a challenged site, and Watling Real Estate thanks Hargreaves Land and North Lincolnshire Council for their support, assistance and flexibility in working within the parameters of a receivership.”
Freeths law firm acted on behalf of Hargreaves Land for the acquisition while Pinsent Mason represented the receivers.
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