New Telford supported living scheme celebrates latest milestone

Residents requiring care and support but wanting to live in their own homes are to get a helping hand thanks to a unique investment by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

The site of the former Stirchley Leisure Centre in Telford is being redeveloped to provide 72 new affordable homes following a £360,000 investment by the WMCA.

The funding has been used to clean up the land and make it suitable redevelopment. It is the first time the WMCA has used its brownfield regeneration funds for extra care homes.

The development is being built by social housing provider Preferred Homes in partnership with Homes England and Telford & Wrekin Council.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, and Chair of the WMCA, said: "The West Midlands has a great record of building houses. But I don’t want us to just think about the numbers, I want us to think about the people that will live in them.

“This development will allow more of our residents to live safely, independently and in their own homes for longer, instead of having to go into a care home.

“This scheme will genuinely benefit and improve the lives of so many of our residents, not just those that require care.

“Preferred Homes Ltd have built homes that are genuinely affordable - something I fully support. There are too many people in our society left excluded because there are simply too few affordable and social homes being built or protected.

“That’s why I am in talks with government about relaxing restrictions on our multi-million-pound housing war chest. I want to be able to use that funding to support schemes that can deliver more homes for those communities that need them most.

“This way we can begin to fix the housing crisis that is blighting so many lives across our region.”

Martin Gallagher, Managing Director of Deeley Construction, said: “It’s fantastic to see our first development with Preferred Homes Ltd hit this key milestone.

“Our team has been on site for the last 12 months and delivered the work in a live environment, liaising with local stakeholders and residents to ensure as little disruption as possible.

“This is a development which will offer a wide range of benefits to people in the Telford area and we look forward to celebrating its completion next year.”

The WMCA’s investment into the Stirchley Leisure Centre scheme has been made from its brownfield housing funds which continue to unlock scores of former industrial sites, often referred to as brownfield land, across the region for new homes.

The ‘invest to unlock' approach sees the WMCA cover the cost of cleaning up brownfield land for developers. In return, house builders must make a minimum 20% of the homes affordable.

The project will deliver homes that are classified as affordable under the 100% ‘Affordable Rent Extra Care Scheme’ which offers more support than sheltered housing but allows residents to live independently.

A typical home provides a self-contained flat with staff available up to 24 hours per day to provide personal care and support services.

A communal area for residents, as well as a variety of other facilities such as community spaces, a bistro or café, hair and beauty salons, guest rooms, laundry and assisted bathing suites, are also usually on offer.

From L-R: Richard Frank, Preferred Homes, Michael Keogh, Nuveen, and Martin Gallagher, Deeley Construction, at the topping out ceremony.

Councillor Richard Overton, Telford & Wrekin Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Homes, Enforcement and Customer Services, said: “It’s fantastic to see this new supported living facility come to fruition - transforming this site and bringing it back into use. 

“The project aligns with our Specialist and Supported Accommodation Strategy and highlights our commitment to provide more specialist housing for our residents across the borough. 

“Bringing this site back into use was an integral piece in the redevelopment of Stirchley, centred around the school development, and the support living accommodation which has been created is a huge boost for Stirchley and our residents.”  

The investment has also seen Preferred Homes make a commitment to buy materials for the scheme from local suppliers and use local construction workers. 

Findlay MacAlpine, CEO of Preferred Homes, said: “This milestone takes us one step closer to delivering 72 new affordable homes for Telford, and to creating an asset for the Stirchley community where they can live, work and come together. 

“Our ambition is to provide high quality extra care housing that ensures people can live well into their later years, regardless of their financial means. 

“That wouldn’t be possible without our work in partnership with local councils like Telford & Wrekin and those delivering on the ground like Deeley, who share our vision of establishing excellent places that support the health and wellbeing of their residents.” 

Preferred Homes bought the land from Telford and Wrekin Council in March 2023. The facility will cost £17 million, with Homes England – the government’s housing and regeneration agency – investing £6.1 million from its Affordable Homes Programme. 

Shahi Islam, Director for Affordable Housing Grants at Homes England, said: “Homes England is delighted to be able to use grant funding from the Affordable Housing Programme to support this scheme. It provides much needed housing for older people and speaks to the Agency’s commitment to support the strategic priorities of the Combined Authority.” 
 

The WMCA and Homes England signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement earlier this year to formalise the West Midlands Strategic Place Partnership (SPP), which sets out shared ambitions to transform derelict brownfield land into thriving communities and places.  

This enhanced working relationship between the WMCA and Homes England forms part of the Deeper Devolution Deal signed by the Combined Authority and Government in March 2023.  

The deal set out an ambition to invest up to £400 million through the current Affordable Homes Programme into the region.  

From 2026, however, the WMCA has been given the strategic decision-making responsibility for any new Affordable Homes Programme, working with Homes England to administer the fund in line with the West Midlands desire to build more social housing, and strengthening local communities, the focus for these new powers.  

In addition, a pot of £200 million Brownfield Housing funds from the WMCA is open to public and private sector developers who share the region’s ambition to bring forward high quality, inclusive communities with genuinely affordable homes at their heart. 

Developers wishing to use WMCA funds to unlock brownfield sites must make at least 20% of homes affordable. The West Midlands was also the first region in the UK to adopt a localised definition of affordable housing linked to real world local incomes rather than property prices.