L&Q has delivered 248 new homes at D’Urton Grange in Preston, with all homes now completed and residents moved in.
The scheme was delivered in partnership with Willmott Dixon and backed by Preston Council and Homes England.
The mixed-tenure development includes half of the homes as affordable housing, with a split between Shared Ownership and affordable rent.
The site received £2.24m grant funding from Homes England, who previously owned the land, through the strategic partnerships programme.
This funding helped speed up delivery of affordable homes, particularly those for affordable rent.
The project began in 2020 and continued through the COVID pandemic, finishing earlier this year.
The site also features improvements to the Preston Guild Wheel cycle route and open green spaces.
D’Urton Grange recently won the award for Best Family Home at the First Time Buyers’ Awards.
Ben Townsend, new business director NW for L&Q, said: “We are delighted to be celebrating this milestone and officially completing D’Urton Grange, after years of hard work, with our partners Willmott Dixon.
“We are particularly grateful for the support from Preston Council and Homes England.
“This has enabled us to build more affordable homes and at a faster rate of construction, genuinely contributing to tackling the housing crisis in the area.”
Valerie Wise, Cabinet Member for Community Wealth Building at Preston Council, said: “The development is very impressive and of a high quality, with a large number of mixed affordability ranging from affordable homes to buy, shared ownership packages and affordable rented options to suit various incomes.
“It’s good to see a registered social landlord such as L&Q in partnership with Wilmott Dixon putting back into the social and affordable housing markets and investing in our neighbourhoods.”
Michael Poole-Sutherland, north west director for Willmott Dixon, said: “On behalf of our team of housing experts, I’m delighted to celebrate completion of this development, which delivers an outstanding combination of high quality, affordability and sustainability.
“We are also immensely proud to reflect on the positive community impact the project has created.
“In partnership with our local supply chain partners at D’urton Grange, our team has created 29 full-time employment opportunities for local people, supported 717 weeks of apprenticeships and engaged more than 500 local school students.”
Kate Collins, head of affordable housing delivery at Homes England, said: “As the Government’s housing and regeneration agency, increasing the supply of quality affordable homes remains one of our key objectives and we are committed to supporting stakeholders of all sizes to achieve their ambitions.
“The D’Urton Grange development is a prime example of how we work with partners like L&Q, through the Affordable Homes Programme, to build much needed new communities that people can be proud to call home.”
