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The final phase of the £42.8m award-winning Welsh Streets neighbourhood regeneration in Liverpool has been completed, bringing the total number of Placefirst homes delivered across the area to 296.
The now complete scheme delivers professionally managed, newly built and refurbished rental homes.
In close partnership with Liverpool City Council, Placefirst developed a masterplan in 2016 that has delivered a carefully considered neighbourhood, designed to transform the highly deprived area into a vibrant community that meets the local housing needs.
The single-family housing developer’s sixth and final phase offers 13 new builds, consisting of three-bedroom houses, and one to two-bedroom apartments, to mark the completion of Placefirst’s 10-year regeneration programme.
Featuring a community hub, where Placefirst’s dedicated resident services manager will be based, in addition to providing a place for community engagement and building initiatives, the project is one with community needs at its core – from design to operation.
Investing over £40m into the area’s transformation, Placefirst has generated socio-economic benefits that have seen a domino effect of greater investment into the area, including over £1.7m into housing, business property refurbishments and a rise in the number of small businesses[1].
The nine streets that comprise Liverpool’s Welsh Streets – named after the Welsh workers who built and lived in the houses that stood there in the late 19th century – have a celebrated history in the city including being the birthplace of The Beatles’ Ringo Starr, and the site for the BBC’s ‘Peaky Blinders’.
Marking the completion of Welsh Streets, David Mawson, chief executive of Placefirst, said: “Rooted in the area’s history, the significance of Welsh Streets to the local community and the city of Liverpool cannot be understated.
“Our mission to transform this once-neglected area into a neighbourhood that instils pride and delivers lasting social and economic benefits has driven this ambitious 8-year project. As we prepare to welcome residents to the final phase, Welsh Streets stands as a testament to the importance of community-centred development. Working closely with existing residents, the completed neighbourhood celebrates the area’s history whilst reflecting the ambitions of today’s community, fit to deliver longstanding value for generations to come.
“As our growth continues at pace, Welsh Streets remains a flagship development that has set a standard for what to expect as we look to continue enhancing communities through the growth of our single-family rental portfolio.”
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]]>This comes shortly after The Welsh Streets was named as Housing Development of the Year at the Insider North West Residential Property Awards in January.
Designed by MBED Architects, Phase 6 will create a traditional terrace that has been carefully considered to be in-keeping with the existing street scene and character of the surrounding area, adding to the high-quality, energy efficient homes Placefirst has created to date. Other members of the team include Curtins (engineers) and WSP (on planning).
Placefirst worked closely with Liverpool City Council on the plans to bring the land situated between High Park Street, Wynnstay Street and Kelvin Grove forward. The new accessible community hub will allow Placefirst to continue its focus on community engagement initiatives, with a strong on site presence.
With Phase 6, the Welsh Streets neighbourhood will total just under 300 single-family BTR homes, a mix of refurbished and new build. Placefirst has invested over £40m into the project to date, with residents contributing an annual £1.7m spend to the local economy.
Construction on the final phase will commence later this year.
"The Welsh Streets showcases what long term partnerships and build-to-rent investment can deliver in terms of regeneration and placemaking, and we look forward to starting construction work later this year”.
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]]>The post Transformation of Welsh Streets named UK’s Best Residential Project appeared first on Placefirst Latest News.
]]>The 2019 RICS Grand Final took place on Friday 4th October at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London, attracting over 500 of the UK’s property professionals and a host of leading developers.
The RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) awards are regarded as the premier property and construction awards in the UK, celebrating the most innovative projects across the regions and their impact on local communities.
Competing against 11 regional finalists, including Placefirst’s The Green (North East), The Welsh Streets in Liverpool was named Best Residential project in the UK.
The Welsh Streets demonstrates how a long-term build to rent approach can deliver innovative design solutions to the growing housing crisis. Working with the proud heritage of Liverpool Placefirst, the Victorian terrace was reinvented through comprehensive remodelling that places the end user at the heart of the design process. Adjacent properties have been knocked through to create large, family homes, and all residents have access to landscaped communal gardens where once there were dark yards and alleys.
Tracey Hartley, Chair of the RICS National Judging Panel (residential) commented:
“Residential is by far the largest sector by value in UK real estate. This award recognises the vital and intimate link between a home and the well-being of its occupants. This should never be outweighed by a dry analysis of the purely financial returns a development might offer. Good residential development breathes life into old buildings, establishes new locations and provides the safe and secure roof over our heads we all need in order to thrive. The judges have seen an array of thoughtful residential schemes from both the public and private sectors where the needs of the occupants have been considered well.
“The Welsh Streets is a fine example of how to breathe new life into tired, rundown terraced housing. Instead of bringing in the bulldozers, sacrificing the established street layout and embedded energy of the existing buildings, Placefirst has imaginatively refurbished the houses and surrounding areas to create desirable, modern homes in an attractive community setting. At a time of acute shortage of quality rental accommodation available long-term at sensible rents, it is heartening to see a PRS scheme achieve just that”.
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]]>The post Placefirst Secures Planning Approval for 52 New Homes at Welsh Streets, Liverpool appeared first on Placefirst Latest News.
]]>The ongoing regeneration of Liverpool’s Welsh Streets took a significant step forward this week as the city council approved specialist build-to-rent developer Placefirst’s plans for 52 new homes as part of a masterplan breathing new life into several streets of Victorian terraced housing.
Presented at the council’s planning committee, Placefirst secured approval to build a mix of 1, 2, 3 & 4-bedroom homes across a number of sites across the Welsh Streets.
Thirty-nine houses will be built on vacant infill sites on Voelas Street and Wynnstay Street, with the remaining 13 homes located on South Street, a key local thoroughfare currently characterised by blank gable walls.
The proposals presented at the planning committee were subject to two planning consultation events prior to and during the planning application, and several changes have been implemented in response to comments received.
Councillor Lynnie Hinnigan, deputy mayor of Liverpool and cabinet member for housing, said: “The regeneration of the Welsh Streets community is one of the city’s great success stories of the past decade and required a huge amount of partnership working to transform a collapsed scheme into an award-winning development.
“It will be fantastic to see a mix of housing being developed in the area with new, modern, striking units complementing the homes that Placefirst have brought back into use – it is another big step in the rebirth of this area.”
James Litherland, planning & development manager at Placefirst, commented: “Given the well documented and fractious planning history of the Welsh Streets, we are delighted with the approval for the new homes at Welsh Streets.
“Through comprehensive masterplanning and remodelling of the Victorian terraces, Placefirst is creating a unique residential neighbourhood in Liverpool and demonstrating the inherent flexibility of terraced housing.
“Approval of the new-build homes will ‘complete the circle’ of our original masterplan and ensure the Welsh Streets offers a diversity of homes to meet families’ diverse needs.”
The new homes have been designed to create a modern, complementary contrast with the Victorian terraces, and use a palette of materials chosen to ensure a consistent streetscape design across the wider Welsh Streets. Similar to the refurbished properties, the new homes will have access to attractive landscaped communal avenues which are replacing traditional yards and alleys typically associated with terraced housing.
Through long-term build-to-rent investment, Placefirst is transforming several streets of Victorian terraced housing previously set for demolition. Existing properties have been completely remodelled to create spacious, energy-efficient family homes, and rear yards and alleys have been converted into a mix of terraces and landscaped communal gardens.
This innovative approach has resulted in 12 national and regional property awards to date, most recently collecting Best Residential Development at the RICS North West Awards in May 2019.
Placefirst aims to start construction of the new homes at the end of summer 2019, working with in-house contractor, Placefirst Construction. The first homes should be ready to welcome new families from spring 2020, with full completion of the Welsh Streets anticipated for late 2020.
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]]>The post Placefirst Submit Plans for First New-Build Homes at Award Winning Welsh Streets Development appeared first on Placefirst Latest News.
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Under plans submitted to Liverpool City Council this week, the latest £8m proposal is set to deliver a mix of 1/2/3/4-bedroom houses as part of a wider 299 home masterplan that includes the comprehensive refurbishment of over 300 Victorian terraced properties.
The newly built homes, located on Voelas Street, South Street and Wynnstay Street, will occupy a mix of longstanding vacant sites and areas where refurbishment has not been possible. Once delivered, the new homes will stitch together the historic street pattern of The Welsh Streets and transform South Street, a key pedestrian route currently characterised by blank gable walls.
The new homes have been designed to create a modern, complimentary contrast with the Victorian terraces and use a palette of materials that ensure a consistent streetscape design across The Welsh Streets. Similar to the refurbished properties, the new homes will have access to attractive landscaped communal avenues which are replacing traditional yards and alleys typically associated with terraced housing.
Proposals for the new-build homes were shared with the local community and senior council officers at a public consultation event held at Placefirst’s marketing suite on 14th December 2018.
Subject to planning approval and enabling works, Placefirst aim to commence construction by Summer 2019, working with in-house contractor, Placefirst Construction.
David Smith-Milne, Managing Director of Placefirst commented:
“These new designs for Welsh Streets will make a great contribution to the ongoing regeneration of this historic neighbourhood, and offer even more people a genuine alternative to volume housebuilder solutions that are increasingly homogenous and devoid of any genuine placemaking.
At a time when Build-to-Rent is largely characterised by small, urban apartments aimed at the young, and ownership starter-homes offer little other that small, identikit houses disconnected from established communities, Placefirst are creating aspirational, larger and architecturally exciting homes and leading the way in housing can be exciting and interesting once again.
Families with children make up the largest section of the private rented sector, yet very few are benefitting from the market clamour to Build-to-Rent. We are proud of our award-winning track record in Build-to-Rent communities and these new properties will offer long-term and secure residencies for their new occupiers when they become available in early 2020.”