Work gets underway on £13m homes at football club site
WORK has “finally” begun on a £13m development on the site of the former Rossendale United FC grounds.
The 95 homes, which are being built by Vistry Partnerships, will be available for affordable rent via Together Housing Group.
The development at Dark Lane, Newchurch will comprise 23 two-bedroom houses, 62 three-bedroom houses and 10 two-bedroom flats. It has been made possible thanks to funding from Homes England.
In addition to a children’s play area on the site, a financial contribution will be made to deliver a replacement playing pitch at Marl Pits Leisure Centre.
The first homes will be ready to move into in November 2021 and the development is expected to be complete by September 2022.
The football stadium was last used by non-league Rossendale United in 2011 and was badly damaged by a fire in 2012.
Since then the site has become derelict.
Planning permission for ‘up to 100 homes’ was granted by Rossendale council’s plannng committee to Culzean Developments in February 2019 - two years after an earlier proposal was discussed. A reserved matters agreement was then finalised with Together Housing last December.
Council leader Coun Alyson Barnes said they were ”extremely pleased” to finally see the commencement of the project.
“The 95 homes, all of which offer affordable rent, will be a great addition to Rossendale - as will the opportunities for the local jobs market with the extra construction jobs that will be necessary to complete the building work,” she said.
Together Housing was announced as one of Homes England’s strategic partners in January 2019, receiving £53m to help deliver 1,152 additional affordable home starts by March 2022.
Hilary Brady, head of development, said: “The site has lain abandoned since the club left nearly 10 years ago. This development will not only improve the appearance of the derelict site but the affordable housing will attract new families into the area to address the surplus school places.”