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LiveWest acquires 114 homes from house builder in new Devon town
LiveWest has agreed to acquire 114 homes from Countryside Partnerships for an undisclosed sum on the site of a major new town in Devon that is under construction.
The deal will see Countryside, which is owed by Vistry, deliver the affordable homes for the Exeter-based landlord. Countryside will also deliver and sell 145 open market homes, via its Countryside Homes brand, on the scheme which has a gross development value of £76m.
The project is part of plans for a new town called Sherford, near Plymouth, with around 5,500 homes proposed overall.
The multiphase project, which has faced objections and proved controversial, began in 2015 and the first school opened in 2018.
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The 1,200 acre site, which is a joint venture between Vistry and fellow house builder Taylor Wimpey, was first acquired 10 years ago. Plans for the new town were initially adopted in 2007, but progress on the site stalled during the economic downturn.
Latimer, the housing development arm of Clarion, is also currently offering homes for shared ownership and outright sale on the site.
Of the affordable homes LiveWest is acquiring, 53 will be for social rent, 41 for shared ownership and 20 for affordable rent.
The housing association currently owns and manages 40,000 homes across the South West.
Gareth Jones, development director at LiveWest, said: “We have been working to deliver affordable housing at Sherford since its inception. We are pleased to continue our support for the growing new town and community it has fostered.”
Stephen Teagle, chief executive of Countryside Partnerships, said: “This latest scheme is a great reflection of the ability of our partnerships model to provide the right mix of homes that communities require, and we are thrilled to be doing so in collaboration with our long term partner LiveWest for the residents of both the South Hams and Plymouth.”
Last month, Mr Teagle told Inside Housing that the firm has struck an increasing number of deals with for-profit providers as traditional housing associations cut back on their development plans.
Since Vistry acquired rival builder Countryside in a £1.25bn deal in 2022, the group has been upping its focus on affordable housing delivery.
Update: Friday 23 February, 12:05: An earlier version of this story stated that LiveWest had acquired all 259 homes. However Vistry has since clarified it is only taking the 114 affordable homes.
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