Plymouth City Council welcomes Sherford funding

A multi-million pound package of Government support to unlock development at Sherford and create a new community as well as thousands of jobs has been welcomed by Plymouth City Council.

Housing Minister Mark Prisk announced a £32 million funding injection for the new town which will bring forward the delivery of 5,500 new homes and help create 5,000 local jobs.

Councillor Mark Lowry, Cabinet Member for Finance, whose portfolio includes strategic housing delivery said: "This is tremendous news. This heralds the start of a project that will bring much-needed new homes and new jobs to Plymouth.

"Sherford has been on the horizon for a long time and goes back to the 1990s. It's one of the three areas identified in our growth agenda for development and I'm delighted that the Homes and Communities Agency are awarding funding for thousands of homes and a new community to help this city fulfil its potential.

"There is much to do, but it's great news to finally get off the starting blocks. We've all been in training for a long time for this.

"For every home built, one and a half permanent jobs are created. This is not just good news for the construction industry, it's good for the wider supply chains and the businesses and shops that will all begin to see new customers as this new community begins to take shape."

Despite plans for the new community being adopted in 2007, progress stalled in the tough economic climate. After years of delays the Government's intervention will now kick-start construction of new homes and a host of community facilities for the South Hams district, including four schools, a new town hall, a sports centre and community park.

The development will be a powerful boost to the local economy. Over the next 15 years it will generate £1 billion of construction investment and inject a further £2 billion into the local area.

Yesterday's announcement is the latest allocation of funding, earmarked by the Chancellor in last year's Autumn Statement, for the delivery of 50,000 new homes in large, locally-supported housing programmes.

The investment in Sherford will bring the total number of homes unlocked through the programme to 41,000. This intervention builds on deals made for a 6,300-home site at Cranbrook near Exeter and a further £234,000 of funding for the Cranbrook development was also announced today.

The funding programme for planned, large-scale sites, administered by the Homes and Communities Agency, is being targeted at schemes that could deliver real benefits to their communities, but are struggling to move forward because the current economic climate.

HCA Executive Director for the South and South West Colin Molton said: "The new community of Sherford is an incredibly important project, because it will go a long way towards meeting the significant need for new homes in Devon and Plymouth and provide a major boost for the economy.

"It is a complex development, which has taken years to bring to this stage. It is fantastic news that investment has been approved which will support the development of the sustainable new community of Sherford. I look forward to seeing work start on the project soon."

Red Tree Partner James Koe added: "A great deal of determination, commitment and, of course, funding is required to deliver a project on this scale and with this ambition. Red Tree has always held firm to the principles of good design and responsible development embedded in the vision for Sherford.

"With the added delivery capability of some of the most able house builders in the country in Taylor Wimpey, Bovis Homes and Linden Homes and the explicit support of the government in providing this funding we can all now start the process of delivering on these ambitions.

"The funding is the vital catalyst to the commencement of the development and this is exciting news for Sherford and for the local economy."

Cllr John Tucker, Leader of South Hams District Council, said: "This is welcome news as we have worked very hard with the local community and the developers for some time now to plan for a high quality new development. The current economic downturn however has created a great number of challenges in bringing the development forward.

"We now hope that the Government loan to the developers will kick start the scheme and lead to much needed homes in the South Hams and jobs for local people."

Background
The community of Sherford will be a new market town built in the South Hams and as well as 5,500 new and affordable homes includes:

• 83,000 sq m of offices, retail units and other employment space
• Three primary schools and a secondary school
• Community facilities which would include a new town hall, youth centre, health centre, library, sports centre with swimming pool
• Sports pitches and a 200 ha community park.

The investment from the Homes and Communities Agency would be used to support:

• New roads and transport infrastructure which would unlock an area used to deliver the first new homes.
• The provision of utilities (gas water and electricity) to support the first new homes.
• Stringent ecological measures to protect wildlife and plants, including new areas for species of bat, replacement of hedgerows and ongoing monitoring by environmental specialists.

The new town which is situated between Plympton and Plymstock, near the Elburton area of Plymouth, has faced local opposition from those opposed to building on the green field sites. Concerns focus on the impact on the area, on farming and on the necessary road infrastructure which raises fears of increased traffic and significant disruption during the town's construction stage.

The local MP Gary Streeter (Conservative, South West Devon) has given his backing to the project.