Member Article

Rt. Hon John Spellar unveils new £32m Smethwick Housing Development

Countryside has opened the doors to its £32m Smethwick development with a special ceremony led by Rt. Hon John Spellar MP.

The Warley MP praised the official release of 180 two, three and four-bedroom homes at the ‘Galton Lock’ development off Mafeking Road, which is being built by Countryside in partnership with Sigma Capital Group.

John Gilbert, Regional Operations Director, Countryside said: “Galton Lock epitomises a true partnership scheme, with ourselves, Sandwell Council, Sigma Capital Group and the Homes and Communities Agency all working collaboratively to deliver quality housing available to both buy and rent. This is a showcase scheme for the Midlands region and an exemplar of how to transform a brownfield site into a diverse and vibrant community.

“We hope to be able to take our learnings and approach here and successfully replicate it in other areas. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the local community for their ongoing support.”

Of the 180 homes under construction, 79 three and four bedroom homes will be available for sale on the open market as freehold, with the option to use the Government’s 5% deposit Help to Buy scheme. Sandwell Council will be providing 38 affordable homes to council tenants. The remaining 63 two, three and four bedroom homes will be available for private rent under Sigma’s Simple Life brand www.simplelifehomes.co.uk.

Steven Brewster, development manager, Sigma Capital said: ’We are really excited about our first Simple Life development in the West Midlands. We have already had a great deal of interest, so we are optimistic for the growth of the Simple Life private rental offering in the West Midlands. This site is testament to a successful working partnership between Sigma, Countryside and HCA with shared community values at the centre of what we do.“

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has helped speed up house building on the Smethwick site, providing £6.8m funding for site decontamination, remediation, acquisition costs and to support delivery. In addition the HCA Investments have provided Sigma with a £45m revolving credit facility, of which £8.9m is being invested in Smethwick to deliver these 63 high quality homes for rent. Through this facility, Sigma is on track to deliver more than 2,000 new high quality family homes across the Midlands and North West of England.

Countryside is also working closely with the Bangladeshi Islamic Centre, which is located on Lewisham Road, to provide a much-needed car park for visitors to the mosque.

Each of the new homes is being developed to a high quality specification to offer local families the unique opportunity to be part of the area’s impressive transformation at an affordable price.

For more information about the new homes at Galton Lock visit www.galtonlock.co.uk, call 0121 314 6751 or visit the show village at Galton Lock, Mafeking Road, Smethwick, B66 1BA.

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