Major contract award to redevelop Wisbech Road scheme in Cambridgeshire

United Living Group, the provider of infrastructure, housing, and property services is pleased to announce a £22.9 million contract award to redevelop Wisbech Road, March in Cambridgeshire, the “Wisbech Road scheme”. The contract has been secured through the Company’s division United Living New Homes.

The project comprises 76 affordable rent and 42 shared ownership homes, including 2, 3, and 4 bedroom houses, and will be carried out by United Living New Homes subsidiary, Partner Construction. The development is part of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s (“CPCA”) and Fenland District Council’s plans to regenerate March, by making local housing more accessible, improving transport links, and redesigning public spaces to bring the vibrant market town back to life.

The investment is part of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s Devolution Deal, granted by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and will see the government invest £20 million a year, over 30 years, through the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Single Investment Fund (“CPSIF”). The contract was awarded to United Living, with Sage Housing, the UK’s largest provider of newly built affordable housing, the affordable housing provider for the site.

The project will prioritise sustainability, integrating the Company’s ‘fabric first’ initiative, an approach to building design whereby the performance and energy efficiency of the components and materials that make up the building fabric itself are prioritised. This approach allows for the development of affordable homes that are both energy efficient and have a lower carbon footprint.

Frank Lincoln, Regional Managing Director, Partner Construction, commented, “We are excited to work in partnership with Sage Housing to provide the community of Wisbech with sustainably built, high quality affordable housing.  With investment from the CPCA, we can work together to build future-proof family homes that will benefit the community and local area.”

Founded in 2017, Sage Housing has worked with both national and SME house builders to deliver more than 7,000 new homes for shared ownership and low-cost rental homes. The work Sage does is especially valuable to the CPCA as its rented properties are let exclusively to people on local authority housing waiting lists, helping to tackle the housing crisis.

Rizwan Khan, Head of Investment and Partnerships at Sage, said: “Everything Sage does is about helping more people to get an affordable home of their own, and we work closely with developers and councils to make this happen across the country. We look forward to another 118 families getting a brand new, high-quality affordable home in Wisbech Road thanks to CPCA funding and our partnership with them, Fenland District Council, United Living Group and Partner Construction.”

Azma Ahmad-Pearce, Housing Programme Manager, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, said: “The Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority is pleased to be investing in 118 new affordable homes in March. These homes will provide homes of a good standard to help in meeting the housing needs in Fenland”.