Castleton Ward Councillor Billy Sheerin; Councillor Daniel Meredith, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Housing; Paul Moore Assistant Director, Economy; and Stuart Morris Head of Strategic Housing (Property) at Rochdale Borough Council, lined up alongside the Kellen Homes team to put the first official spade in the ground at the new development of 191 homes.
The homes are being built on the former railway siding land off Heywood Road, Castleton, brownfield land which has been vacant for over a decade. The new neighbourhood will include 191 high-quality, two, three and four bedroomed family homes of which 29 homes will be allocated for affordable housing including ten available under the Government’s First Homes Scheme allowing first time buyers to buy a home for 30% less than its market value.
The scheme will provide 3.83 hectares of open space for local people including a large garden square including a children’s play area that sits at the heart of the development, and, to the west, a large green open space within the Green Belt including an ecological wetland and provision of trim-trail equipment.
Hawks View will also provide an injection of investment £450,000 to support local education, £300,000 towards Mayfield Rugby Club and highway improvements. And Kellen Homes will gift land to the council to support aspirations around the future extension of the East Lancashire Railway from Heywood to Castleton and emerging proposals for a tram-train to Heywood, as currently set out in the Greater Manchester draft Rapid Transit Strategy.
The new homes have been welcomed by Ward Councillor Billy Sheerin who said: “This brownfield site is absolutely prime for redevelopment and Kellen Homes worked with the council and the residents to listen to what they wanted, and we are now seeing the start of these important new homes and investment for Castleton.
‘Castleton is a key place for new homes, it has two easy accesses to the motorway network, a nearby train station with direct access to Manchester, it’s served by an excellent bus route and the Bee Network and the next phase of the new cycle scheme. Castleton is very much on the up and these houses will allow local people to buy their own homes.”
Councillor Danny Meredith, cabinet member for housing and regeneration at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “I’m delighted to see this vacant brownfield site being brought into such an important use and I’m particularly pleased that some of these high quality homes have been allocated for affordable housing. In addition to the homes, which are very welcome, this development helps unlock significant regeneration in the wider Castleton area as part of our rail corridor strategy to redevelop brownfield land around our key transport hubs. It will also support our aspirations around the East Lancs railway and bring significant investment into local education, highways and green spaces.”
Councillor Billy Sheerin added: “I am particularly pleased that through this development we have been able to secure land that supports our ambition to bring the East Lancs railway into Castleton, something that has been an ambition for over a decade. “
Mollie Tomlinson, Head of Sales and Marketing at Kellen Homes, said “Today is a significant landmark in bringing forward these important new homes for the people of Rochdale. Hawks View is going to be a fabulous new development of modern, stylish Kellen Homes with open space and community facilities in a great spot for people wanting to live in Rochdale and with easy access to the transport network making it easy to commute to local towns and cities.
“A huge amount of work has brought us to this point, and it is great to be able to mark the moment with the Council and councillors and we look forward to delivering this attractive and sustainable neighbourhood with its homes for local people and the injection of investment to support local education, highway improvements and local sports clubs.”
