Land Securities has exchanged contracts with Taylor Wimpey for the sale of 539 residential plots at Castle Hill, which is one of three planned villages in the 269-hectare Eastern Quarry development and forms part of the wider Ebbsfleet Garden City.
Ward Homes and Persimmon are already on site at Castle Hill, and this latest deal with Taylor Wimpey brings the total number of committed homes at the site to 1,500.
Land Securities has also been granted planning permission to build a primary school at Castle Hill, which will be operated by the Leigh Academies Trust. The contract tender process has already begun and construction is due to start on site in the summer with the school due to open to new students in September 2017.
Once complete, Castle Hill village will have 1,500 homes set around new public open space, a neighbourhood centre, the primary school and community facilities. Castle Hill is part of the Eastern Quarry development, which is a part of Ebbsfleet Garden City with outline planning permission for up to 6,250 new homes.
The Eastern Quarry is split into three villages, of which Castle Hill is the first to be delivered.
Land Securities has also agreed the sale of land at Eastern Quarry for the two additional villages, which have capacity for 4,700 homes, to residential infrastructure and placemaking firm Henley Camland. Land Securities will retain 16 hectares of land for leisure, retail and employment use at the western boundary of the site.
Henley Camland is a joint venture between the Henley private equity group and Camland Projects, which has worked as a consultant to Land Securities since 2012, providing placemaking and infrastructure delivery support.
The sale to Henley Camland is conditional on achieving revisions to the existing planning consent and Land Securities and Henley Camland said they would work together to achieve this. The revision of the planning consent and delivery of these homes at Eastern Quarry will mark a significant step forward in helping Ebbsfleet Development Corporation achieve the targeted 15,000 homes for Ebbsfleet Garden City, the said.
In addition Land Securities, through its Ebbsfleet joint venture with Lafarge Building Materials Ltd and Anglo American International Holdings Ltd, has completed the sale of Springhead Park to Countryside. Springhead Park was the first phase of development in Ebbsfleet Valley and already comprises almost 300 homes, developed by Countryside. This sale will see Countryside build an additional 500 homes on the site.
Land Securities development director Tom Venner said: “Today’s news represents a significant step forward for Ebbsfleet Garden City. We are delighted that through working in close partnership with Henley Camland, Countryside, the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation and a range of housebuilders, we are able to facilitate significant progress in the delivery of new homes and communities at Ebbsfleet.”
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
