Green light for BTR development on former gasworks site

Planning permission has been granted for a new build-to-rent (BTR) development on the former Heworth gasworks site in York.Moda Living has been successful with a reserved matters application, following the granting of outline approval for the whole site in 2020.The developer’s plans include 392 homes in a mix of studio, one- two- and three-bed homes, along with amenity spaces including private dining rooms, 24/7 gym and fitness centre, a cinema room and a 24-hour concierge.The scheme aims to create a health and wellbeing-focused community and address the shortage of quality homes for rent in York. With a community green at its heart, the neighbourhood will also feature new landscaped green space open to the public.In addition to a 24h gym and fitness centre, residents will have access to a host of wellness focused products and services to support their healthy lifestyles, with each one given free access to home fitness app FIIT, while Moda’s wellness programme offers coaching sessions on topics ranging from fitness and nutrition to healthy sleep and financial wellbeing.Additionally, a partnership with mental health expert MYNDUP gives residents subsidised access to services including counselling, meditation, and life coaching.The plans were approved at City of York Councils Planning Committee yesterday (3 November 2022), in line with a planning officer’s recommendation.Moda Living managing director Tony Brooks said: “As a Yorkshire-based family business, we are very excited to have been given the go ahead to bring this new generation of rental living to York.”Our ethos is to put the needs of residents at the heart of everything we do, and so we offer deposit-free living, encourage wellness in both physical and mental health and run a regular programme of events for residents, designed around their interests and demands, to build a community they love being a part of.”The private rental sector continues to prove its resilience, and the demand for new homes combined with quality of product means we are confident that Heworth Green will prove a valuable addition to the city of York and its communities.”Works are expected to start early next year, adding to the £1.5bn of Moda Living projects on site across the UK.The ten-acre former Heworth gasworks site will be remediated early in the New Year and, as well as the new Moda Living community, also includes a masterplan with 215 other homes by North Star and Heworth Green developments, a new neighbourhood park and extensive landscaping throughout the development.Leeds-based architects’ practice Fuse Studios has designed the four- to six-storey buildings on this part of the site. The development is part of Moda Living’s build-to-rent portfolio with investment partner Apache Capital Partners.Chief executive at Apache Capital John Dunkerley added: “This is an important next step in the growth of our prime multi-family portfolio, with a model focussed on premium quality and service, and high amenity provision in core regional economies.”Our operational schemes have illustrated the resilience of the class A multi-family model in a sector already attracting heightened interest from income-seeking investors, and Apache Capital and Moda have set the standard within it.”