Council depot regenerated for new housing following WMCA investment
Published: Monday 21 Mar 2022
Work to transform part of a council depot for new housing has been completed following an investment from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
The Hawks Green Housing Development Scheme has seen Cannock Chase Council and Jessup Brothers build 44 new properties, 22 of which are council homes for rent.
To mark the completion of the properties, all of which are now occupied, council members, senior officers, and representatives from Jessup Brothers and the WMCA were given a tour of the site.
Leader of the Council Cllr Olivia Lyons, Housing, Heritage and Leisure Portfolio Leader Cllr Adrienne Fitzgerald, Shadow Housing Portfolio Leader Cllr John Kraujalis, Head of Housing and Partnerships Nirmal Samrai, WMCA Strategic Planning Manager Rob Lamond, Clive Jessup, Jessup Brothers Founder Director and representatives from Property at Frontier Development Capital
The council successfully bid for WMCA funding to help towards the clean up of the land so it was suitable for development.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the WMCA, said: Despite the upheaval of Covid, the WMCA has continued to invest in derelict brownfield sites to create new homes, jobs and infrastructure, all of which are now helping the region recapture its previous economic momentum.
The pandemic has failed to stop us making the investments needed to not only unlock urban sites like this one for new homes but to also give local people the skills they need to work in the industries of the future such as construction and digital.
It is good to see how that investment has now helped transform the Hawks Green Depot site as it has at many other brownfield sites across the region - protecting precious green belt land in the process. We will continue to work with developers to transform derelict industrial land across the West Midlands into new homes and jobs for local people
Cllr Adrienne Fitzgerald, Cannock Chase Council's Portfolio Leader for Housing, Heritage and Leisure, added: I am really proud of this vibrant housing development. It has made good use of unused land at the Council's depot site. It has provided high quality housing for both private and Council residents.
The scheme has incorporated the use of solar panels and electric car charging points on some of the houses which mean that the residents will benefit from reduced energy bills
The development's 22 council homes were made possible through the Council's Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme Housing Investment fund and with funding from the WMCA's Brownfield Land and Property Development Fund.