Lands Improvement has acquired a 551-acre site in Essex for a major housing scheme valued at £480 million.
The firm, which describes itself as a strategic land developer, has bought the site of Dunton Hills garden settlement of 3,700 homes, along with an option agreement for a further 6.47 acres, in a deal secured by CEG.
The acquired site, to the east of the village of West Horndon, has an adopted Local Plan allocation and Brentwood Borough Council has voted to approve the scheme which is likely to be delivered in five phases over a 12-year period.
The scheme will have a mix of housing types and tenures including private homes for sale, single-family Build-to-Rent, affordable homes and care homes. Among other social infrastructure, it will feature a village centre with healthcare provision, community uses and a public square alongside new primary and secondary schools.
The deal follows the approach taken by Lands Improvement at its 5,000-home development at Linmere in Bedfordshire, where the firm is delivering strategic infrastructure and selling serviced development parcels as master developer.
Managing director James Stone said: “Dunton Hills Garden Village marks an important acquisition for Lands Improvement in an area with a limited supply of new homes and consented land despite strong market demand.
“Taking on the master developer role, we look forward to securing consents and delivering the substantial and wide-ranging infrastructure required to support this new community, from green spaces and roads to key community facilities and fostering the community management trust that will eventually take on the stewardship of the garden village for generations to come”.
Whirledge & Nott acted as agent for the vendor.
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