McCarthy Stone has welcomed the team from Homes England, the Government’s housing and regeneration agency, to its ground-breaking new retirement community that will provide high quality and affordable homes for older people in and around Oldham and Greater Manchester when it opens early next year.
The scheme, called Sydney Grange, has been constructed by McCarthy Stone, the UK’s leading developer and manager of retirement communities and is the first to be both built in full using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and sold exclusively using Homes England’s Older Persons Shared Ownership (OPSO) scheme. Together, this means that apartments are available for just £95,000 based on 50% ownership*, opening up access to many more local people.
McCarthy Stone and Homes England - Sydney Grange, Failsworth
Sydney Grange will be the first in a programme of scale across the Midlands and the North by McCarthy Stone that will deliver hundreds of new apartments at an affordable price to meet unmet need. The scheme has proved attractive with half of the apartments already taken. It is estimated that there are around 3 million older people in the UK who own their own homes but possess limited equity and are unable to move into homes more suitable for their needs.
Located in the heart of Failsworth in Oldham, the development features 51 stylish one- and two-bedroom apartments designed exclusively for those aged 60 and over. The OPSO scheme provides a helping hand by reducing purchase prices by providing a choice of options up to 75% ownership. Rent is payable on the remaining share except where a purchase is at 75%, when no rent is paid, presenting an attractive offer to homeowners.
The scheme is constructed in full using an eco-friendly category 2 panelised system developed by Remagin, Europe’s leading manufacturer of Light Gauge Steel Frame (LGSF) MMC solutions. The panels are built in Remagin’s Leeds factory and then assembled on-site, helping McCarthy Stone to build faster, greener and more affordably. Homes England provided grant funding to support both the MMC and OPSO aspects of the development.
Shahi Islam, Director of Affordable Housing at Homes England, who led the visit, said:
“McCarthy Stone's Failsworth development is an excellent example of high-quality and affordable housing for older people. We are pleased to support it through our older persons shared ownership scheme which forms a key part of Homes England’s efforts to provide suitable housing and build strong communities. Expanding the use of MMC is also a priority for the programme so it’s great to see the success of the partnership with Remagin. We look forward to supporting this model and seeing it progress.”
John Tonkiss, CEO at McCarthy Stone, said:
“We are delighted to showcase the first of what will be many more affordable retirement communities that we will build in partnership with Homes England and Remagin. This visit highlights our shared vision of creating homes that are not just places to live, but thriving and affordable communities where older people can enjoy an enhanced quality of life. It is a truly groundbreaking model that provides new retirement apartments at affordable prices and in parts of the country where development previously would not have been viable. We look forward to continuing this partnership in the months and years ahead.”
The Homes England team also visited Remagin’s factory in Leeds where the LGSF panels are made. Through the Remagin system, build programmes have been accelerated by up to 50%, and defects significantly reduced. Residents are also set to benefit from reduced energy bills.
Patrick Balemans, Head of Division, Etex New Ways and Remagin, said:
“This partnership is a shining example of how MMC can be used to deliver high quality, affordable housing at pace and scale, a primary objective for the Government. It has been made possible by the commitment at all levels of our organisations and with a deep and stable pipeline in place we look forward to delivering many more schemes and to supporting older people to live a better later life.”
