The Midland Heart housing association and home builder Countryside have started work on their first joint development under a new partnership.
The £14.8 million development, on a former golf course at Nuneaton, Warwickshire, will provide 105 family homes and one-bedroom apartments.
Midland Heart is getting grant funding from Homes England of almost £1 million for 30 of the affordable rent properties.
The first homes should be ready by early 2020, with all 105 completed by the end of next year.
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council granted planning permission to Countryside Plc for a development at Plough Hill totalling 300 homes, of which just over a third will be for Midland Heart.
Last year Essex-based Countryside bought one of one of Leicestershire’s biggest housebuilders Westleigh in the spring of 2018, in a deal that could eventually be worth up to £135.4 million.
Countryside built almost 4,300 homes in the year to September 28 2018 – up more than a quarter – with plans to build 30 per cent more homes in the current trading year, partly thanks to the acquisition of the Leicestershire builder.
Turnover at Countryside was up 20 per cent to £1,229.5 million last year, with adjusted operating profits were up 28 per cent to £211.4 million.
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Chris Miller, director of development for Midland Heart, said: “This is an exciting development for Midland Heart and our first with Countryside since signing our partnership agreement that will see around 1,000 new affordable homes built across the Midlands over the next three years.
“The development will provide Midland Heart with 80 homes at affordable rent, plus a further 25 for shared ownership which is great news for local people trying to get a foot on the property ladder at a cost they can afford.”
Joe Turner, regional development director at Countryside, said: “Our partnership with Midland Heart housing association is the start of a new and exciting time for us, as we continue to grow our Midlands’ housing portfolio.
“The Plough Hill site is one of two new developments that we’re launching within Nuneaton and we look forward to further expanding our presence throughout the region.”
The partnership supports Countryside’s growth plans and keeps Midland Heart on track to achieve its ambition to provide 3,000 high quality homes by 2024.
The two are also working together to gain planning approval for a number of other new developments in Warwickshire and the West Midlands.