Wates Residential celebrates first homes snapped up under flagship Cardiff scheme
National developer Wates Residential is celebrating very strong demand for the first homes released under Cardiff’s flagship house-building programme.
The first twelve homes, located on the Braunton Crescent (Captain’s View) and Clevedon Road (Captain’s Walk) sites in Llanrumney, were released off-plan at the end of last month. All of them were reserved within 24 hours, with particular interest from first-time buyers. It marks a major milestone in the ‘Cardiff Living’ partnership, which will see the development of 1,500 homes across a number of sites in the city following Wates Residential’s appointment as Cardiff Council’s trusted development partner in January 2016.
The plots, which include two and three bedroom homes, were advertised at an information event, held to attract local buyers, at Eastern Leisure Centre in Llanrumney on Friday, March 23rd.
More than 50 people attended, with appointments made for the following day through agent Allen and Harris. Successful reservations were made by eight (67%) first-time buyers, while seven homes (58%) will be bought using the Government’s Help to Buy scheme. The homes are the first to be released under the ‘Cardiff Living’ programme, a 10-year partnership between Cardiff Council and Wates Residential. Designed to tackle growing demand for housing in the city, the project is set to deliver approximately 600 council homes for rent or assisted home ownership and a further 900 for sale on the open market.
The Captain’s View and Captain’s Walk sites, due for completion next year, will comprise of 106 mixed tenure homes, including 40 council homes and 66 for market sale. A further nine sites have achieved planning consent. Construction work on four of these sites is underway as part of the first phase of the programme. All of the homes built through ‘Cardiff Living’ will meet high levels of sustainability and energy efficiency to help tackle fuel poverty.
As part of the ongoing partnership, Wates Residential and Cardiff Council have also made a joint pledge to create employment and training opportunities for local residents, including on-site apprenticeships, work experience placements and structured training programmes. To date, £237,000 has been generated in economic, environmental and social value, with 824 training and employment weeks created for people across Cardiff.
The next homes on the site will be released at the end of April.
Paul Nicholls, Managing Director of Wates Residential South, said:
“The release of the first homes under the ‘Cardiff Living’ brand is a significant milestone and we are delighted that the homes have been received so well by local residents, especially first-time buyers. There is clearly an increased local need for high-quality and affordable housing in Cardiff and ours and the council’s plans will significantly help to address this urgent demand. Our
long-term partnership with the council means we will not only help provide crucial additional housing, but we will also deliver significant benefits to the community through our investment
in skills, employment and training.”
Cllr Lynda Thorne, Cardiff Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, said:
“I’m delighted that these new homes, part of our Cardiff Living partnership with Wates Residential, are proving to be popular with buyers. This is an exciting milestone in the Cardiff Living programme and I look forward to seeing the developments already underway continue to progress as well as work starting on new sites across the city. We’re committed to addressing demand for all types of housing in the city and delivering good quality, affordable homes that will help regenerate communities and improve the quality of life for residents.”
