Kevin Ruth, Deputy Chief Executive of Together Housing Group:
“This joint venture sees Salford's council's visions realised and demonstrates how housing associations can work across sectors to help address the housing needs of the region effectively".
“Spinners Quarter has been part of our ongoing approach of establishing partnerships to help address housing need. We're delighted to be able to add value to the Lovell house building expertise in Salford and across the regions to create places that meet the needs of buyers and tenants now and in the future,"
The development includes 30% affordable and 70% open market homes, with options for shared ownership, social rent, older persons living and international neighbourhoods. The development centres on a high-quality public realm throughout the heart of the development and several innovative features such as cycle street linking into wider Salford cycle routes, SuDS and rain gardens - planted areas on the main street to help with natural drainage - and adjacent allotments.
A skatepark, designated play areas and multi-use games areas have also been allocated.
Paul Dennett, Salford City Mayor:
"It is fantastic news to see this project come forward as part of our long term commitment to Pendleton. The new parks and play areas built will be added to, with 15 new allotments for local people. the four wheelchair accessible homes will also meet the need for more adapted and accessible new homes. The first phase also saw the creation of new jobs and it is great to see our partners committing to local employment opportunities and apprenticeships in the same way".
About the development
Each phase of the project is distinctive with 293 homes already delivered, forming the catalyst to kickstart the regeneration. Spinners Quarter is the second phase in the scheme, aiming to breathe new life into a former council housing estate.
The area had suffered from low-demand, mono-tenure housing and a dilapidated public realm, which over the years had declined and led to pockets of anti-social behaviour. Hoping to restore a sense of pride and dignity, the site has been named in honour of the area’s rich textile milling heritage
The homes at Spinners Quarter have been designed to adapt to the ever-changing cycle of modern life, offering quality living arrangements. The external designs were developed to complement earlier residential development phases to the west and east of the Pendleton site.
Spinners Quarter offers 127 new homes, a contemporary collection of two, three and four bedroom semi- detached and terrace properties. This includes 17 affordable homes and 56 properties that meet the Lifetime Homes internal spaces standards. Of the affordable homes, 20% of these are also wheelchair accessible.
To align with Salford’s ambitions to become a carbon neutral city by 2038, Lovell Together ensured that the modern properties offer energy efficiency measures.
On average, homes are 52% better than the required building regulation standards through:
- Enhanced fabric thermal improvements
- Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery unit (MVHR) – this includes a continuous running ventilation system to wet rooms and kitchen areas
- Enhanced insulation
- PV roof panels and battery storage technology has been included within each house plot to reduce even further the energy costs for homeowners.
Building relationships
Early in the development process Lovell Together engaged with Salford Council and its Housing and Regeneration teams to understand the Council and residents’ ambitions for the area, design technology and public realm. Council officers working on the Pendleton scheme had been involved in the wider area for more than a decade and provided valuable insight, for the design principles workshops.
Throughout the 18-month design and peer review process, we met with the council and members on a regular basis to review specification, design, space standards and tenure. We met with nearby residents and updated those living in the surrounding the area detailing the planned work and provided an opportunity for the local community to comment on the proposed development.
Feedback was also welcomed from Local ward members of Langworthy, elected members for the Ordsall ward, and the nearby Lark Hill Primary School. The design was then developed through Salford Council’s pre-application process to assess the site and propose the design details for discussion. Throughout the pre-application process, the council provided advice, which culminated in revisions to the scheme and the development of the design proposals.
The ‘Communi-Tree’ was a creative initiative by Lovell, with Year 6 pupils at Lark Hill Community Primary School celebrating the vibrant and diverse voices of Pendleton through artwork on Lovell hoarding.
Gemma Lavelle, head teacher at Lark Hill Community Primary School:
“Lovell’s team provided health and safety talks and a donation to buy equipment to help the school start a gardening club. Our pupils enjoyed having the chance to think about what makes where they live unique and to create a visual reputation of what their community means to them.
They loved seeing their design come to life and it’s great to see terms such as diversity’, ’friendship’ and ‘neighbour’ featuring in the design; all values that we also celebrate at school. Thank you to Lovell for inviting us to take part in this project and for donating all of the art materials we needed to make it happen.”
