Macclesfield school site developers announced by Homes England

Barratt and David Wilson Homes North West have been announced as the preferred developers for the Macclesfield King’s School site, government housing agency Homes England has revealed.

The scheme to build 300 new homes at the King’s School Fence Avenue campus in Macclesfield secured full planning approval on 29th July, after Homes England acquired the site in 2018 in a leaseback deal. The school will move to a new purpose-built campus in Prestbury from the 2020-21 academic year.

The development will provide 30% affordable housing, 20% more than the outline planning consent (in place when Homes England acquired the site in 2018) required. The site will now contain 90 affordable homes rather than 34, a significant increase and huge benefit to the local community.

Barratt and David Wilson Homes North West will partner with Torus, one of Homes England’s housing association strategic partners, to deliver a proportion of the affordable homes. Torus will also convert the historic school building, Fence House, on the site into apartments for market sale.

Stephen Kinsella, Chief Land and Development Officer at Homes England, said:

This is a significant step forward for the development of Fence Avenue, where our innovative approach has demonstrated our ability to intervene in the market and unlock land for new homes, while facilitating the school’s ambitions for its new campus.

“We’re pleased to appoint Barratt and David Wilson Homes as the developer, who along with Torus will provide a range of homes for the people of Macclesfield, with a significantly higher proportion of affordable housing that originally anticipated.”

Robert Holbrook, Managing Director at Barratt and David Wilson Homes North West, said:

We are delighted to be working in partnership with Homes England and Torus to deliver high quality new Homes in Macclesfield.

“We will be retaining the heritage of King’s School through the refurbishment of the main school building, which will be converted into apartments, complemented by the development of 273 new homes. The development will offer spacious homes alongside plenty of green spaces and local amenities, meaning it’s perfect for a variety of buyers.”

Chris Bowen, Managing Director of Torus Developments, continued:

We’re passionate about building strong communities and giving people the opportunity to take that first step on the property ladder. By working closely with public bodies and national organisations, we are able to provide affordable homes, exactly where they’re needed, like never before.

“Being a strategic partner of Homes England is already paying dividends in terms of the land we can access and the assets we can unlock. Not only will this development see us bring new homes to Macclesfield, but also restore and transform Fence House.

“Torus has considerable experience of heritage projects and the sensitive redevelopment of listed buildings. We are excited to be leading on the regeneration and transformation of this landmark asset to provide truly affordable housing options to the people of Macclesfield, like our award-winning redevelopment of Odgen’s Tobacco Factory in Everton, Liverpool.”

Homes England’s intervention in the King’s School site has also facilitated the development of housing by Bellway at the school’s former Westminster Road campus. McCarthy & Stone have also secured planning permission for a retirement complex on a third part of the Macclesfield school site.