Keyland Developments has sold its interest in Templegate Developments to joint venture partner Evans Property Group for an undisclosed sum.
Templegate Developments is the company behind Skelton Gate, a 170-acre former open-cast colliery site located approximately four miles east of Leeds city centre.
To date, Evans and Keyland have secured planning permission for phases one and two at the site, which includes up to 1,100 homes, a new school, public open space, a local centre and a food store. An application has been submitted for phase three, which, if approved, will provide an additional 700 homes and infrastructure.
The 27-acre phase one was sold to Avant Homes and Evans Homes in January 2022 and the circa 31-acre phase two will be sold fully serviced to a housebuilder to bring forward.
Peter Garrett, managing director of Keyland Developments, the property trading arm of Kelda Group and sister-company to Yorkshire Water, said: “At Keyland, our focus is on the early stages of the development process, using our expertise to secure planning consents on complex sites and to overcome obstacles to development. We are incredibly proud of our work unlocking the Skelton Gate site for development to enable a major contribution to the Leeds City Region in terms of new homes, community amenities and the job creation throughout the construction and development phases.
“Passing on our interest in this project to our partners at Evans will allow us to concentrate our efforts on our growing planning promotional agreement (PPA) business and on unlocking further opportunities from Yorkshire Water’s 70,000 acre land portfolio.”
Rob Marshall, UK managing director of Evans Property Group, added: “The Skelton Gate site is one of the most significant in the Leeds City Region and our successful, long-term partnership with Keyland Developments has brought the scheme to an exciting stage. Three housebuilders are already building and selling houses on phase one of the scheme; Avant Homes, Vistry and our own Evans Homes business.
“By acquiring 100% of phase two and three we have secured a significant pipeline for Evans Homes as we continue to grow that business, adding to existing sites at Tockwith and Skelton, and future sites at Whinmoor and Brayton. We thank our valued partners Keyland for their work on the scheme up to this point and for opportunity to follow our growth strategy for our Evans Homes residential business.”
