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Chinese cash funds northern housing
A Chinese private enterprise firm is to invest £60m in three Northern Powerhouse projects that could deliver 10,000 new homes, including housing developments in Salford and Leeds.
The Treasury announced that Hualing Industry and Trade Group will become an investor in the schemes led by the Scarborough Group worth a total of £1.2bn.
The deal is a result of a delegation sent to the Xinjiang region led by chancellor George Osborne and including Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson and leaders of Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds city councils.
The Scarborough Group projects include Middlewood Locks in Salford, worth around £730m and incorporating a total of 2,000 residential units.
It also includes a £400m mixed-use scheme at Thorpe Park in Leeds, the first phase of which is looking to deliver 300 new homes. Scarborough Group says it has the potential to unlock the construction of 7,000 homes in total.
The third scheme in Sheffield concerns commercial and office development.
The Treasury said the three projects are “expected to create 18,000 jobs and enable the delivery of 10,000 much-needed new homes, helping to build the Northern Powerhouse”.
Mr Osborne said: “We are building an ever closer relationship with China – it’s a partnership that is set to unleash growth and help regions like Xinjiang where we know investment can make a real difference, as well as unleash new growth back home, in places like our own Northern Powerhouse.”
