Take-off for homes at former airfield as Stourbridge property developer sells Swindon site

Published by

Nicky Godding

Stourbridge-based property development company Barberry Group has completed the sale of a 48-acre site in Swindon, Wiltshire, to a joint venture between leading house builders Vistry Group and Bellway Homes.

Barberry secured an outline planning consent at Redlands Farm, Wanborough, in May last year for 370 dwellings, including 74 affordable homes, as part of the New Eastern Villages (NEV) urban extension. The sale took place in March.

Construction of housing is expected to start on site later this year following the sale, for an undisclosed sum.

The development will also deliver a two-form entry primary school, local shop, and a contribution of £5.23 million towards secondary schooling, health care, community and sports facilities in the NEV. There will be an additional contribution of £3.44 million towards local highways improvements.

Martyn Cartwright, group director at Stourbridge-based Barberry, said: “We are delighted to have brought forward the initial phase of development within the New Eastern Villages urban extension which will bring a much-needed boost to the shortfall in Swindon’s housing supply, delivering a range of affordable and market housing.

“The NEV has been a cornerstone of the borough council’s adopted plan, and the recent closure of the airfield at Redlands, in anticipation of the development commencing, has been a testament to the authority’s vision.”

Last year, Barberry Group also completed a £37.5 million land deal – achieving more than £350,000 per acre – paving the way for the creation of a world-leading cyber technology development in Cheltenham.

A 110-acre site of prime development land was acquired by Cheltenham Borough Council, which is planning to develop Cyber Central in partnership with Tewkesbury Borough Council, Gloucestershire County Council and GFirst LEP.

The sale of the land, to the west of Cheltenham in the UK Cyber Arc, marked the successful conclusion of four years of hard work and significant investment by Barberry Group.

Martyn Cartwright said: “The successful completion of the Cyber Central land deal will lead to significant investment and create new jobs in the region. The strategic land team at Barberry devoted significant resources to reach a successful conclusion so it is very satisfying to see the proposed development enter the next stage, led by Cheltenham Borough Council and the Cyber Central partnership.”

Barberry entered into a Promotion Agreement in 2015 on approximately 110 acres on the western urban edge of Cheltenham and successfully promoted the site through the Local Plan. The developer successfully persuaded the planning inspector to recommend removing the site from the Green Belt and designating it as a sustainable urban extension.

Cyber Central is part of a larger 132-hectare plan for the West of Cheltenham for a pioneering new garden village community, built with the natural environment and sustainability at its core. It will enable barrier-free knowledge-sharing and collaboration between industry, academia, government and the local community.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.