Latimer debuts in Chester
Clarion Housing Group’s development arm has acquired a site close to the Shot Tower and Shropshire Union Canal, paving the way for a 132-apartment scheme.
The 1.24-acre brownfield site will be built out in a development of one- and two-bedroom apartments, of which 40% will be available through shared ownership. Each will have a balcony, along with access to communal terraces and garden space.
Latimer’s site is adjacent to the grade two-listed Shot Tower, which has been restored as part of a development by Altrincham-based Whitecroft. The site lies within Muse’s City Place masterplan area intended to add a mixed-use quarter that links the station to the city centre. Opposite the development plot is the Waitrose store which opened in 2014.
Progressive Living Developments used its vehicle Progressive Living City Place to acquire the site, and sell it to Latimer. PLD will be retained by Latimer to appoint a contractor and deliver the development under a development agreement.
Progressive Living aims to submit a planning application for the site in Q1 of 2022. The professional team working on the scheme includes AHR as Architect, Zerum as project manager and quantity surveyor, Turleys on planning and RoC, which is providing structural and environmental engineering consulting.
Outline consent is in place for the whole City Place area. Subject to detailed planning, work on site is expected to begin in summer 2022.
Richard Cook, group director of development for Clarion Housing Group, said: “Demand for housing in the centre of Chester has risen in recent years, and we’re delighted to have acquired this site to provide a range of homes that the city needs.
“We will deliver sustainable and high-quality new homes in a location that provides easy access to local employment opportunities and public transport.
“City Place will be a vibrant new community and we look forward to seeing our vision for the site become reality.”
Elsewhere in the region, Latimer this summer acquired a plot at the former Boddingtons brewery site in Manchester, where it plans to deliver 442 homes.
Latimer is also delivering the final phase at Manchester’s Islington Wharf, a scheme sitting within Clarion’s ambition to deliver 400 affordable homes in the city per year, as spelled out by Cook in a Place North West interview in September.
