Developer Muse has exchanged contracts with Rotherham Borough Council on a deal to deliver the regeneration of the Forge Island site, on the edge of the town centre. The regeneration is planned to include a cinema, leisure space, a hotel and car park, with a public space and pedestrian bridge connecting the scheme to the wider town centre. Development of the waterside site is a key element in the broader town centre masterplan, created by consultant WYG. A planning application is in preparation and is due to be submitted within months.
Construction firm Galliford Try has confirmed the sale of its housebuilding operations to housebuilder Bovis Homes. Under the £1.08 billion deal, Bovis will acquire Galliford Try’s Linden Homes and partnerships and regeneration divisions. Peter Ventress, chairman of Galliford Try, said, "This transaction is a positive development which is in the best interests of both our shareholders and wider stakeholder group. For Galliford Try, it establishes a focused and well-capitalised construction business led by a very experienced and dedicated management team."
Basildon Council has approved plans for its housing company to develop 1,000 homes over the next five years. The plan will see the council housing company, called Sempra Homes, double its previous development programme of 584 homes. To date, the company has delivered 67 homes. Leader of Basildon Council, councillor Gavin Callaghan, said: "We’re taking a Basildon first approach to housing and are thinking much bigger now in terms of delivery".
Transport for London (TfL) has published a strategy outlining how use of the River Thames could become an integral part of the transport network again with the number of annual river trips doubled to 20 million by 2035. The new Passenger Pier Strategy sets out how TfL, the Port of London Authority and boat operators and other stakeholders can work together to improve the network of piers and river services to promote sustainable travel. It says that in order to realise the potential of the river, TFL and the Port of London Authority will encourage the delivery of more privately funded, developer led piers. The strategy was introduced at Royal Wharf, on the Leamouth Peninsula in east London, where developers Ballymore and Oxley officially opened to the public London’s newest pier. Royal Wharf Pier, which is designed by architect Nex, has been created alongside the developers’ 3,385 home Royal Wharf development, which is under construction, and becomes the twenty-third pier to be serviced by the Thames Clipper riverboat service.
Liverpool City Council has appointed urban designer LDA Design to develop a public realm strategy for the city. The strategy’s aims include delivering a high quality public realm, envisaging a better connected city, creating opportunity to dwell and engage and contributing to sustainable development principles.
