This month sees the final handover completed on one of Halton Housing’s most popular developments at Tan House Lane in Widnes, marking the end of the organisation’s single largest regeneration of one area in its history.

Halton Housing, which celebrated its 15th anniversary in December, started the transformation of the former industrial area around Warrington Road and Tan House Lane in Summer 2014. The first phase of its development programme saw 21 mid-terraced and semi-detached houses, and 18 apartments built on Vineyard Way, Page Lane.

Since then, Halton Housing and Open Door (Halton Housing’s commercial subsidiary), have delivered over 350 more new build homes. The £29m investment, supported by Homes England, has completely transformed a previously derelict section of land into a thriving and bustling community.

The ambitious programme of work and associated funding also included the construction of Waterfront Point, Halton Housing’s award-winning Head Office which, in 2017, brought together its 330 colleagues from the Daresbury Point and Foundry Lane Offices under one roof and at the heart of the community.

The regeneration project formed part of Halton Housing on-going commitment to providing much-needed high quality and affordable homes to address local housing demand. Homes delivered over the six-year period included apartments, bungalows, semi-detached and terraced properties across a range of tenures. All financial circumstances were catered for with properties available through affordable rent, private rent, market sale, Shared Ownership and rent to buy, adding to the success of this incredible regeneration programme.

Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy are affordable homeownership schemes which are targeted towards helping first-time buyers get onto the property ladder and were made available through Open Door.

Watch a short video marking this milestone.

Paul Mullane, Halton Housing’s Director of Development and Growth says:

“What has been achieved in this area since 2014 is an exceptional example of how powerful partnerships and a shared vision for transformation can deliver real results. This is the single biggest regeneration of an area we have undertaken and we couldn’t have achieved this without Russells, Savills and PDW nor would it have been possible from the outset without the financial backing from Homes England.

“Our mission is all about improving people’s lives, and I am proud that this development does just that. It delivers real value to real people and I’m confident that the impact of  the regeneration will still be evident in years to come as further generations enjoy what has become an exceptional community in the heart of Widnes.”

The project also marked the start of a long and successful partnership with residential developer Russell Homes, which delivered more than 300 properties for Halton Housing, alongside 42 for private market sale, and main contractor Russell WBHO which built Waterfront Point.

Andrew Russell, managing director for Russell Homes and Russell WBHO, said:

“The Tan House Lane area is completely unrecognisable from the derelict plots we first encountered, and its successful transformation into a vibrant new community is something we’re all very proud of. The scheme demonstrates the value of partnership working and residential-led regeneration in bringing brownfield sites back into use, rejuvenating a whole area by creating high-quality affordable family homes for people to enjoy.

“We saw first-hand the demand for good quality family homes when our 42 private sale properties were snapped up within just a few months, the vast majority going to local first-time buyers. The continued popularity of the development with buyers and tenants over the last six years is testament to both the build quality and the need which exists within this community and which is being successfully addressed with this Joint Venture housing strategy.”

Nicky Harris, Development Manager at Halton Housing has been instrumental in making this transformation possible. Nicky said:

“My team and I have worked hard for over six years with our partners to provide quality homes for hard working families in this new, desirable and popular residential neighbourhood.”

Rob Poole, Managing Director of Open Door added:

“The Open Door team and I are proud to have been an integral part of bringing the vision for the redevelopment of this area of Widnes to fruition. This incredible scheme is so much more than bricks and mortar, it’s about providing homes and building communities. Our local community has embraced Shared Ownership and fully understand and endorse that this is an enabler into home ownership. Our involvement in this programme is certainly one of the biggest highlights for Open Door since its formation.”

Halton Housing and Open Door have an ambitious growth and development programme and a number of exciting new developments are due for completion in 2021. You can view all of our developments here.