Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds visits Housing with Care development
Onward, which manages around 1,800 homes in Tameside, recently welcomed the local MP to Birch Lea Park, an over 55’s housing with care development in Hattersley.
When complete, the scheme will offer modern affordable homes for those looking to downsize or might need additional support later in their lives.
Alongside new homes, Birch Lea Park has been designed to create a strong sense of community, with facilities such as an onsite café/bistro and hair and beauty salon, which will be open to the public and residents. Birch Lea Park will also incorporate a private courtyard for residents as well as new and improved green spaces for the wider community to enjoy. Discussing the scheme Jonathan Reynolds, MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, said:
“It is over 15 years since plans for a supported living development on Hattersley were first proposed so it is wonderful that it will now being delivered. My thanks to Onward Homes for making this happen.
“I know that this is much needed housing that will allow older and disabled residents struggling to cope to find an affordable and supported home that is part of a community.”
Reflecting on local housing needs, Bronwen Rapley, Chief Executive at Onward, added:
“For over a decade, we have been working with the community in Hattersley and Mottram and our partners in Tameside Council and Homes England to make a place to be proud of. There is an established need for more homes for our older customers and in building Birch Lea we are both meeting this need and freeing up family homes to rent.
“This reflects closely the national picture. We need to build more homes to suit the needs of our older customers and enable them to stay independent for longer and Birch Lea will help us to do this in Tameside.”
David Chilton, Managing Director of Rowlinson adds:
“We’re really proud to be delivering another phase of new homes in Hattersley together with the scheme partners. In total, we are building 161 new homes, all of which are on former brownfield land which is now coming back into productive use.
“The majority of the new accommodation will be tackling later living head-on, providing bespoke homes to people aged 55 and over. When complete they will be a great asset for residents and the wider community alike.”
Birch Lea Park forms part of the wider transformative regeneration programme taking place in Hattersley, which will offer homes in different styles to cater to local housing needs. Onward is working with Greater Manchester-based contractor Rowlinson to build these homes. Having started on site in early 2022, Rowlinson expects to hand over the building in spring 2025. The building has been designed by another regional SME: Triangle Architects.
Funding for the scheme has been delivered through Onward’s Strategic Partnership with Homes England, as well as the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Brownfield Land Fund.