Countryside & partners unveil first new homes at Blackburn regeneration scheme

21 October 2022

Countryside and its partners, Together Housing Group and Sigma Capital, have celebrated the completion of the first homes at the landmark Brookfield Vale development in the Higher Croft region of Blackburn.

The organisations were joined by representatives from Blackburn with Darwen Council, to celebrate the first completions on a site that has long been earmarked by the council for redevelopment.

Mark Hadfield, Managing Director, Merseyside and Cheshire West, Countryside, commented: “I’m incredibly proud of Countryside’s history of regenerating areas and creating communities. Through this latest development, we’re delivering on Blackburn’s housing needs while breathing life into a previously neglected area of the town.

“This highly accessible, sustainable community will be a fantastic addition to the area, and I’m delighted to celebrate the first completions with partners who have been instrumental in getting us to where we are today.”

Councillor Phil Riley, Leader of Blackburn and Darwen Council, commented: “It’s fantastic to see the first residents moving in to these new, quality homes. This project is a terrific example of what partnership working can achieve – a lot of hard work and dedication has gone in by Countryside, Together Housing, Sigma and Blackburn with Darwen Council Officers to bring these sites forward and it’s already looking impressive.

“As a Council, we are committed to improving the quality of homes in our borough and schemes like these are fundamental in helping to achieve that goal while also offering affordable options. We look forward to seeing more homes being completed soon and the installation of a new play park which will be well-used by the community.”
377 homes are planned for the land by Fishmoor Drive and Roman Road. The development is being constructed on three plots of land, all of which were formerly disused brownfield sites.

The site is a mixed tenure development of two-, three- and four-bedroom homes, with 20% of the 377 homes intended to deliver affordable housing through Together Housing Group. A further 154 homes will be available for rent, managed by PRS provider Sigma Capital Group, under their build-to-rent brand Simple Life Homes. The remaining 154 homes will be designated for open market sale.

The area has been sparsely populated and underused since the turn of the millennium, when a number of council properties were demolished. In addition to providing much needed housing, Brookfield Vale will give the area a new lease of life and boost the local economy in these difficult times. Countryside has also committed to investing £395,000 into local education initiatives as part of the project.

Hilary Brady, Director of Development, Together Housing Group, added: “The regeneration of the sites at Fishmoor is a project that Together Housing is proud to deliver alongside Countryside and our other partners. We have been working in partnership with Countryside and Blackburn with Darwen Council for many years to ensure we jointly brought this scheme to fruition.

“The scheme has only been made possible due to the determination of all parties to ensure it could be delivered as a viable scheme. The disused land has been brought back into use and we are delighted to see the first new homes being completed. The project will benefit the area in many ways, by providing affordable, high quality energy efficient homes, which will offer a good mix of tenure choices to meet a variety of housing needs, create employment opportunities and lift the appearance of the area.”

Jason Berry, Regional Managing Director, Sigma Capital, commented: “With a strong heritage in regeneration, we are thrilled to be launching our second development within the Blackburn area. We have been working closely with Countryside for over 15 ears to deliver thousands of homes across the UK, particularly in areas we feel have an undersupply of high quality and professionally managed rental homes.

“After experiencing such a high demand in the North West region for Simple Life Homes, we are excited to introduce Brookfield Vale to the area, which we know will meet the incredibly high standards of Blackburn residents.”

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Countryside & partners unveil first new homes at Blackburn regeneration scheme

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