Nottinghamshire County Council selects ilke Homes to regenerate brownfield site.

ilke Homes is set to deliver up to 140 homes in Nottinghamshire after being selected by Nottinghamshire County Council to regenerate a brownfield site in Arnold.

The deal, which followed a competitive tender process, will see the redevelopment of the nine-acre site in Rolleston Drive in Arnold. The former depot was derelict for six years before being destroyed by fire in 2017. Innes England advised Nottinghamshire County Council acting as its agent.

The scheme is ilke Homes’ third in Nottinghamshire. In July, ilke Homes signed a deal with Network Rail to build 40 homes in Beeston. In February, ilke Homes delivered nine zero-carbon homes in Newark for SME developer, Positive Homes.

The homes will be manufactured at ilke Homes’ 250,000 sq ft factory in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, before being delivered to Rolleston Drive.

This marks the first time that Nottinghamshire County Council has released land for a factory-built housing development. The local authority announced last year it was supporting major infrastructure and capital projects costing over £200m to help boost prosperity for its residents and the local economy. It has secured an £11m grant from Homes England to prepare eight redundant sites that it owns for housing development to meet the growing demand in the county.

Because they are factory-built, these homes are more cost-effective to maintain, quicker to construct and have a lower carbon footprint than traditional brick houses. They can be built with less disruption on-site and require less complex groundworks, making them an ideal solution for local authorities who want to quickly regenerate surplus brownfield land, and an essential part of the government’s strategy to ‘build, build, build’ to meet housing need and boost the economy following the Covid-19 lockdown.

The government has shown its support for modern methods of construction (MMC) in housing. Last year, ilke Homes secured a £30m investment from Homes England to increase the capacity of its factory, as part of a scheme to boost MMC and deliver more affordable homes across the UK.

Tom Heathcote, executive director of development at ilke Homes, said: “We’re delighted to have been selected by Nottinghamshire County Council to unlock this important brownfield site.

“Our housing technology means we can quickly deliver a high-quality scheme that brings this derelict site back into productive use and deliver much needed, sustainable family homes for the local community.

“It is our intention to submit a full planning application for an affordable led scheme of 2,3, and 4-bedroom houses by the end of the month.”

Councillor Kay Cutts, Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “We selected ilke Homes as the purchaser for this site after receiving many bids from different housebuilders and developers during the tender process. 

“The re-use of this site for housing will be a huge benefit to the community and ilke Homes already appear to be making progress with their planning application. The sale will realise a notable capital receipt for Nottinghamshire County Council.”

Tim Garratt, chairman at Innes England, said: “I walked past this site as a teenager on my way to Arnold Hill school. Several years on, I’m delighted to see this deal bring forward a significant development for the Arnold community. It will not only see new family and affordable housing brought forward, but a major regeneration of a derelict site. It has been a pleasure working with ilke Homes and Nottinghamshire County Council and I am looking forward to seeing the homes upon completion.”

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 About ilke Homes

ilke Homes is a leading manufacturer and developer of factory-built homes helping to tackle the UK’s growing housing shortage by delivering high-quality, energy-efficient homes in half the time of traditional methods. The company works closely with local authorities, housing associations and developers across the UK to deliver housing for a mix of tenures. In 2019, the company entered a £100m joint venture with Places for People, the largest deal yet for Britain’s factory-built housing sector. www.ilkehomes.co.uk

About Innes England

Innes England is a leading firm of Chartered Surveyors based in the east midlands. The Nottingham office act on a number of key strategic sites across the wider Nottingham Conurbation. www.innes-england.com

As seen in Estates Gazette, Property Week and Housing Today