Flagship proposals to develop the final phase of new homes on the former Park Prewett Hospital site near Basingstoke have received a boost after partners reached a deal to progress the project.
Site owner the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has signed an agreement with David Wilson Homes, which will see them work to develop a masterplan for the site and begin consulting on a planning application for a proposed 585 homes. The agreement will see them deliver the phase of 300 homes and manage the rest of the site.
Park Prewett is an early pilot for the Government's Build Now, Pay Later initiative, which aims to get work started on thousands of new homes across the country without developers facing the expense of buying the land upfront. The project will aim to use a mix of deferred and guaranteed payments to support development.
The HCA marketed the site through a competitive selection process using its Delivery Partner Panel, which includes housebuilders, contractors, housing associations and developer consortia. Hungerford-based David Wilson Homes Southern was selected as preferred bidder.
Under the agreement, around 40% of the new homes built at Park Prewett would be classed as affordable. All properties would be built to Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, which is a higher standard of sustainability than a traditional house, and meet Lifetime Homes standards, designed to enable people to live independently for longer.
[Link2] Community Landbanking Will Create 'Imbys' Out of Britain's Nimbys
In an article for the Guardian's Housing Network, Tim Leunig considers how the need for more new homes can be met when there is a growing number of people who want to protect the countryside from further development.
His theme is - 'exhortation will not work, but incentives might'. With a substantial rise in land values when transferred from agricultural to residential use, the article explores the potential for that gain to be for the benefit of the local community.
The article considers the possible financial gains of a small development to a rural village through community land auctions.
Tim Leunig is Chief Economist at the thinktank CentreForum.