Countryside starts on 158 affordable Knowsley homes

Your Housing Group has signed the housebuilder to a £29m contract to deliver the homes, part of the first phase of its plans for Halsnead Garden Village.

Countryside Partnerships began work on the 158 homes in March. The group is targeting a spring 2026 completion for the scheme, which comprises a mixture of apartments and houses. These residences will be available under shared ownership, rent-to-buy, or affordable rent tenures.

The homes will be built on 28 acres off Windy Arbour Road. It is a site that has outline planning permission for 373 homes and reserved matters permission for 239. Funding for the homes comes in part from Homes England, which has a strategic partnership with YHG.

YHG’s development marks just one part of the wider Halsnead Garden Village project, which includes 1,600 homes, up to 56 acres of employment land, 82 acres of green space, and a 69-acre park.

Lorraine Donnelly, development director for Your Housing Group, said she was glad to be working with Countryside Partnerships on the Knowsley project.

“The garden village principles with community facilities and green spaces are very much in line with our vision to not just deliver quality homes, but to unlock affordable living and build thriving communities,” Donnelly said.

Countryside Partnerships’ managing director for Merseyside and Cheshire West, Gemma Hardy, added: “Your Housing Group is a valued partner and we’re very pleased to be working with them at Halsnead Garden Village, bringing much-needed affordable housing to the area

“The new development will help to make a significant contribution to the area’s affordable housing supply, becoming an important part of the wider Garden Village.”

While Countryside is busy in Knowsley, the firm is also active in Helsby where it is building 215 affordable homes for Onward, having picked up the job after the previous contractor entered administration.