Vistry and Sanctuary have formed a joint venture to deliver a 2,204-home mixed-use community in south Worcester.
Located between St Peter’s and Kempsey, the Hopfields development has outline planning consent and will form a key part of Worcester’s southern urban extension.
The wider plans for the site include a local centre, primary school, employment space, sports and community facilities, a hotel, care provision, health facilities and new green infrastructure.
At least 20% of the homes will be social and affordable, in line with the development’s planning obligations, with the flexibility to deliver additional homes as affordable housing. The site will be brought forward through a range of routes, including Vistry’s partnership-led model, open market homes and opportunities for additional delivery partners to develop parcels across the site.
Many of the homes will be built using timber frames manufactured by Vistry Works, the group’s in-house manufacturing operation.
Adam Daniels, chief executive of Vistry, said: “When we set out the findings of our CEO review in September, we were clear that Vistry would become a more focused business, concentrating on the regions, sites and partnerships where our mixed-tenure model performs best. Hopfields serves as a strong example of our renewed focus in practice.
“The Midlands is one of our priority regions, the site already benefits from planning consent, and it is being delivered through the long-term partnership approach on which our model is built. Our aim now is to replicate this disciplined approach across the group, and we expect Hopfields to be one of many schemes that reflect the way we will operate in the years ahead.”
James Warrington, executive chair, north, south Midlands and east division at Vistry, added: “Hopfields is a major investment in Worcester’s future and shows what can be achieved when land, housing and infrastructure are brought together through a partnership-led approach. Working with Sanctuary, we can deliver homes for a range of needs while creating the facilities, green spaces and connections that make a new community thrive. With our established housebuilding brands and the manufacturing capability of Vistry Works, we have the scale and expertise to deliver high quality homes efficiently over the lifetime of the development.”
Craig Moule, group chief executive at Sanctuary, said: “Hopfields represents a significant opportunity to create a thriving new community and provide much-needed homes for people across Worcester. Building on our long-standing partnership with Vistry, this development will deliver new homes, supported by the infrastructure, services and green spaces that help communities flourish.
“At Sanctuary, we are committed to playing our part in increasing the supply of new, high quality social and affordable housing, and investing in places where people want to live. Hopfields reflects that ambition and demonstrates what can be achieved through strong partnerships, focused on long-term community benefit.”
