Milton Keynes affordable housing scheme moves forward with developer appointment

Housing association Catalyst, a subsidiary of the Peabody Group, has moved one step closer to starting work on its 58-home affordable housing development in Milton Keynes.The group has appointed developer The Hill Group to build the new homes in the village of Stoke Hammond, Buckinghamshire.Located just south of Milton Keynes, the development on Fenny Road will bring 34 homes for affordable rent and 24 homes for shared ownership, with 43 houses and 15 apartments.The development is being built on land purchased by Catalyst, with work on the new homes due to start this autumn and complete in early 2024.Commenting on the development, Joe Marshall, regional managing director of Counties North at Peabody, said: “We’re delighted to announce the appointment of The Hill Group as our development partner for these 58 new energy-efficient, affordable homes in Buckinghamshire.“Providing sustainable homes is one of our strategic priorities, helping both reduce the environmental impact of the homes we build and keep energy costs down for customers.“Catalyst’s acquisition of the land, Hill’s recent appointment, and our start on site in a few months’ time are significant milestones in our long-term development pipeline and strategy in our Counties North region.”He continued: “Stoke Hammond is just one of the sites we’ve secured to bring new affordable homes to the Home Counties and is one of a number of other schemes we’re bringing forward in Central Bedfordshire – at the heart of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc.“These new homes will allow local people to rent or get their foot on the housing ladder and settle in an area where they may not previously have been able to afford to.”Simon Trice, managing director of The Hill Group, said: “We are delighted to have been appointed by our valued partner Catalyst and look forward to working with them to deliver sustainable, affordable homes for the local community in Stoke Hammond.“We will utilise our considerable experience and expertise to ensure all properties include energy and cost saving features that will benefit residents for the future.”In a bid to maximise energy efficiency across the development and keep bills low for customers, air-source heat pumps, mechanical ventilation heat-recovery systems, and solar panels will be installed instead of traditional gas heating.Further, all homes will be built with an increased wall thickness to achieve an ‘ultra-low’ energy fabric.Catalyst recently merged with Peabody, one of the largest not-for-profit housing associations in the UK.Following the merger – which took place in April with Catalyst joining as a subsidiary – Peabody became responsible for over 104,000 homes and 220,000 residents across London and the Home Counties.The intention is to move to a full integration by April 2023.Peabody CEO Ian McDermott recently issued the statement following an inquest into why the body of one of its residents lay undiscovered for more than two years.Are you a social housing professional? Sign up for a FREE MEMBERSHIP to upload news stories, post job vacancies, and connect with colleagues on our secure social feed.