Cameron Homes has exchanged contracts to acquire a 2 Ha (5-acre) site in the Worcestershire village of Honeybourne, on the north-western fringes of The Cotswolds. Outline planning is in place for 40 dwellings, granted by Wychavon District Council.

Accessed from Stratford Road, the site is within a short walk of village amenities and a 15-minute walk from Honeybourne train station, which has frequent services to Evesham, Worcester and London. The direct service to Paddington station takes under 100 minutes.

Sheldon Boseley Knight acted on behalf of the vendor, with Deeley Group securing the outline planning consent in mid-2025. 40% of the homes are to be allocated for affordable housing.

The Staffordshire-headquartered five-star HBF housebuilder has previously constructed developments in the nearby villages of Long Marston, Lower Quinton, Luddington, Blockley, and Tredington. White Ridge Architecture has been appointed by Cameron Homes to prepare a Reserved Matters application for submission to the local planning authority this summer.

John Hickman, Group Land Director for Tara Group and Cameron Homes, said: “We’re really pleased to secure this site, as Honeybourne is such a highly desirable North Cotswolds village with so many scenic attractions within easy reach. Future residents will be able to reap the benefits of a semi-rural lifestyle, while having shops, amenities and Honeybourne train station in easy walking distance.”

“We’ll be submitting a detailed planning application for a quintessential £14m Cameron development of beautifully designed and detailed family houses this summer.”

Charles Davis, Director of Sheldon Bosley Knight, said: “It’s been a pleasure to work with Cameron Homes on this land deal, which will see this prime site brought forward for much needed family and affordable housing. We look forward to seeing the plans come to life later this year.”

The exterior elevations of the 40 homes will be traditionally styled with brick and render to complement the local vernacular. Many of the new dwellings will have frontages to both Stratford Road and Mickleton Road, while others will have views over the open space and fields to the south of the site.

The latest green energy features will be incorporated into this scheme, with a very high EPC rating targeted. Specification highlights will include Smart Hive thermostats, electric vehicle car chargers, and solar PV panels.

The majority of the existing hedgerow around the site will be maintained and managed. As part of the development programme, Cameron Homes will also deliver ecological enhancements and increase the biodiversity of the site through the creation of attenuation ponds and other SUDS features for wildlife habitats.

Honeybourne benefits from a post office and local shops, two pubs, a primary academy, recreational spaces, a refurbished village hall, takeaways, and the regional family attraction All Things Wild. Broadway – referred to as ‘the jewel of The Cotswolds’ is under five miles from the development site.

Established in 1994, Cameron Homes is currently delivering over 200 homes across 11 live developments and has a pipeline of future sites expected to deliver circa 1,000 new homes.

For further information on Cameron Homes: https://cameronhomes.co.uk/  

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Barratt Homes’ Carleton Chase development in Penrith, which is fast approaching 50% sold, is set to help key workers get a foot on the property ladder with an exclusive scheme.

The leading housebuilder has created a variety of schemes and initiatives to help prospective buyers make their goals of homeownership a reality. The Key Worker Deposit Contribution scheme is an example of this, dedicated to helping the people who keep Britain going secure a smooth route to a brand-new home.

Eligible home buyers using this scheme could get a £1,000 contribution towards their deposit for every £20,000 spent towards the purchase price – up to the value of £25,000.

For example, for a home costing £450,000, this would qualify key workers for a contribution of £22,500. This enables property seekers to access more competitive interest rates and save money in the long-term.

For home buyers at the Carleton Avenue development this offer will be well-suited to local people. Penrith Hospital, Carleton Hall Police Headquarters and Penrith Community Fire Station are all within one mile of Carleton Chase, alongside a range of schools such as North Lakes School and Ullswater Community College for those in educational fields.

Recently, Barratt Homes expanded its list of key workers to include foster carers. Other eligible professionals included are members of a local authority, NHS workers, members of the Ministry of Defence and more.

Alan Watt, Sales Director at Barratt Homes Manchester, said: “With our stunning Carleton Chase development excellently placed in Penrith, there is a range of potential home buyers that can benefit from our Key Worker Deposit Contribution scheme and save thousands on their move.

“If anyone is unsure whether they qualify for our Key Worker Deposit Contribution, we recommend visiting our sales team. We are eager to assist key workers and help them on their house hunting journey to make a move more affordable and comfortable.”

Residents at Carleton Chase can take advantage of its excellent location, offering convenient access to Penrith’s town centre and other major towns and cities, whilst having significant swathes of greenery on the doorstep.

Flanked by the Lake District National Park and the North Pennines National Landscape, Penrith ensures a serene lifestyle for all nature lovers to enjoy. In the Eden Valley town itself, home buyers will want for nothing with high street shopping, restaurants, and activities readily available.

Carleton Chase currently offers a selection of traditionally built four bedroom homes with prices starting from £377,000.

For further details on any nearby developments, call the sales team on 033 3355 8474 or visit the website at Barratt Homes in Cumbria.

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Five-star housebuilder Cruden has submitted an application to substitute house types within the previously approved residential development at Kirkton Road in Neilston.

Planning permission for the development was granted in May 2024 for 90 new homes, comprising 80 houses and 10 flats. The latest application relates to 49 homes for private sale within the wider consented scheme and proposes a selection of revised house types from the Cruden range. Consent has already been secured for the remaining 41 homes on the site.

The proposals retain the previously approved road layout, access points from Kirkton Road and wider landscape strategy for the development. Plans also include new tree planting, sustainable drainage features and walking routes connecting the site to surrounding green space.

Homes within the development will also include energy-efficient features such as air-source heat pumps and electric vehicle charging provision.

As part of the design approach, the plans recognise the local significance of the historic “scratching post” stone located within the site. The feature will remain part of the development, with proposals allowing it to be carefully removed during groundworks and reinstated in the same location and orientation once site levels have been completed.

This approach will also help reduce the amount of imported material required on site, supporting a more sustainable and efficient construction process.

Affordable housing is not included within this application, as these homes form part of the already consented scheme for the site, which will deliver 25% affordable housing overall.

Cruden has engaged with Neilston Community Council and East Renfrewshire Council as the project progresses and is committed to continuing dialogue with the local community throughout the planning process.

Andrew Duncan, Land Director at Cruden, said:

“This updated application reflects our ongoing commitment to delivering much-needed, high-quality homes within the already approved development. Although we are introducing a range of new Cruden house types, the overall layout, access arrangements, and landscaping strategy remain as previously approved, ensuring thoughtful planning and continuity.

“We are focused on working closely with East Renfrewshire Council and the local community to create homes that not only complement the surrounding area but are designed with sustainability in mind, supporting a greener, more resilient neighbourhood for the long term.”

For more information on Cruden visit Homes | Cruden Homes

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Andy Cowan, Associate Director, Carter Jonas (Manchester) discusses how regional planning should change to best provide the homes that are needed?

The Chancellor has been clear about the development sector’s role in helping to kickstart economic growth. From a planning and development perspective, the commitment to regional development being regionally-led was received by many as positive, as were the further changes to strategic planning that emerged in the Devolution White Paper, revised NPPF and Planning and Infrastructure Act.

The White Paper sets a medium-to-longer term ambition to simplify local government structures, proposing that strategic authorities will cover all of England. These groups of councils would be expected to engage in regional planning and produce Spatial Development Strategies, which will be implemented following support from a majority of constituent members. (The word ‘majority’ may be important in the future.)

Mayors who, the Government suggests, will lead Strategic Authorities, will benefit from new development management powers and possess the ability to call in strategically important planning applications. This is significant because it has only occurred in London previously. Other combined authorities, such as Greater Manchester and West Midlands, have not benefitted from devolved planning powers to this extent. In future, combined authorities will also have the ability to charge developers a mayoral levy to ensure that new developments contribute towards the necessary associated infrastructure; this doesn’t currently take place outside London.

The Government’s proposal is that integrated ‘single settlements’ will be implemented for Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities from the 2025-26 financial year and for four further northern Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) from 2026-27. This dedicated regional funding solution is a step-change from the current experience whereby funding is sought from numerous different central government pots on a competitive basis.

Unlike the proposals in the White Paper and Planning and Infrastructure Act, the changes to the NPPF are immediate and require a step-change in planning for the delivery of housing and economic uses. The revised NPPF introduces new requirements for local authorities to dedicate more land for growth in their Local Plans and adds weight (alongside carrots or sticks, depending on your viewpoint) to decision-making on planning applications that support sustainable growth.

The overall ambition seems clear. The Government wants local authorities to achieve higher levels of growth through collaboration and, in return, receive greater autonomy to drive their own agendas.

Regional planning is a vehicle to achieve this and there are lessons to be learnt from experiences to date, some of which already appear to have been heeded by the Government.

A common challenge in policy-making is achieving political consensus. Even the successful Places for Everyone plan (formerly the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework) had challenges before being adopted in 2024. Work had begun a decade earlier, with an early draft published for consultation in 2016. Challenges around the amount of Green Belt release then required a radical re-think, further delaying its production and subsequently leading to the withdrawal of Stockport Council in 2022. Then, following adoption, Oldham Council requested to withdraw.

Stockport and Oldham Councils are currently in No Overall Control (NOC) politically, making consensus challenging. This challenge is especially prevalent in instances in which councillors have elected on a hyperlocal issue – more often than not, in opposition to housing development. According to the Institute for Government, there are approximately 100 local authorities across England in NOC, meaning this issue may come up frequently across the country.

For the next wave of regional planning to be successful requires politicians (both locally and regionally) and local authority officers to make compelling cases for accommodating growth and accompanying infrastructure.  This would certainly be helped by the incentives proposed by the Government to support regional planning, including increased devolution and access to dedicated funding.

For combined authorities at an earlier stage in their formation, Greater Manchester provides an intriguing example of devolution, specifically of the effects of engaging with regional planning versus not engaging. Places for Everyone provides a good example of how devolved decisions are implemented in practice and it will be interesting to follow how Stockport accommodates its housing and economic growth independently of the regional planning umbrella.

For more information on Carter Jonas visit Carter Jonas Estate Agents & Property Consultants

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Leading housebuilder Barratt and David Wilson Homes has been granted full planning permission for a new housing development in Gosforth in Newcastle, delivering 140 new family homes.

The new site has been approved as a ‘Neighbourhood Growth Area’ in a sustainable location in line with the Newcastle Gateshead Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan.

The scheme will provide a range of homes, including 15% of properties being allocated to affordable housing, discount market value and affordable rent schemes. In addition, 37 homes will be designed as accessible and adaptable housing.

The development will have a strong emphasis on community and quality of life, with areas of open space and an informal play area on site.

Jo Ainsley, Managing Director at Barratt and David Wilson Homes North East, said: “We’re delighted to have been granted planning permission for this new development in Gosforth.

“We are committed to delivering high-quality, energy efficient homes that help meet the housing demand across Tyne and Wear.”

As part of the scheme, the housebuilder will contribute approximately £1.2 million as part of its Community Infrastructure Levy, as well as over £2 million towards the local area through S106 contributions.

The development will also achieve a 10% biodiversity net gain, and proposed plans will enhance habitats for the local wildlife.

Works at the development are due to start following Newcastle City Council’s delivery of roadworks on Rotary Way. Barratt and David Wilson Homes is contributing £238,800 towards these works to provide walking and cycling improvements, including two toucan crossings.

For more information about developments in the county, call the Barratt Homes sales team on 0333 355 8470 and the David Wilson Homes sales team on 0333 355 8471. Alternatively, visit the websites at Barratt Homes in Tyne and Wear or David Wilson Homes in Tyne and Wear.

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Zoopla has announced that Taylor Wimpey plc has signed a new contract following a year of strong performance in 2025.

Zoopla delivered a 35% increase in new home buyer leads for Taylor Wimpey over H2 2025. More importantly, Zoopla delivered a sector-leading percentage of leads that converted into reservations, underpinning a strong return on investment for Taylor Wimpey.

As part of the new partnership with Zoopla, all of Taylor Wimpey’s new home developments will continue to list on Zoopla as the homebuilder seeks high-quality buyer leads to support sales rates for its new developments.

This double-digit increase in lead quality and volume is a result of Zoopla’s ongoing investment and innovation in its new homes search experience. This includes a range of enhancements across the Zoopla website to improve the visibility of new homes, as well as promoting the benefits of new homes to prospective home buyers, including search by developer.

Under the ongoing partnership, Zoopla will support Taylor Wimpey with further market data and insights to enable the homebuilder to obtain the best return on investment from its marketing spend. Together, the businesses are also investigating how to leverage Zoopla’s proprietary data to identify and retarget prospective buyers in a smarter way.

Taylor Wimpey already uses Zoopla’s ‘Buyer Insights’ regionally to support land purchase decisions and provide local market insights to support marketing and audience targeting.

Stephen Parker, Head of Digital at Taylor Wimpey, said: “Zoopla is a valued partner and key pillar in our marketing strategy for 2026, with a sector-leading percentage of leads delivered by the property website converting into reservations. This, combined with the quality and quantity of their new home buyer leads drives a strong return on investment.

“This has also been enhanced by improvements across their site and consumer experience, which makes new homes more visible to consumers. New innovations around buyer affordability and new homes selling schemes will open up additional sources of quality buyer leads for our developments.”

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Spitfire Homes has unveiled three statement show homes at Clarendon, its brand-new collection in Coventry, where 182 design-led homes are being created.

The two-bedroom Stowford and four-bedroom Farleigh and Ellingham launched recently.

Clarendon is located on the western edge of the city near Burton Green, with a mix of unique layouts to suit different lifestyles, and sales are well underway on the first phase of two- to five-bedroom properties.

Demand within the collection’s first phase has been strong, with reservations now reaching double figures, ahead of the first completion later this month.

Last month saw the launch of the two-bedroom Stowford and four-bedroom Farleigh and Ellingham housetypes, which are now open for public viewing.

In delivering Clarendon, Spitfire is contributing more than £1.8 million towards improvements to local education, infrastructure, NHS services and highways.

The first properties in the collection will be ready to move into in the coming months, offering residents the chance to join a Spitfire community and enjoy the ideal blend of city convenience and countryside charm, while the show homes’ interiors have been carefully styled to reflect modern trends in design and Coventry’s cultural heritage.

Spitfire Operations Director, Matt Vincent, said: “The launch of these show homes offers an exciting opportunity for prospective residents to explore our thoughtfully designed properties and see first-hand the exceptional standards of quality, comfort and style that define Spitfire Homes.

“We’ve seen a positive start to the year across our portfolio, and are confident that this momentum will continue as more families, young professionals, downsizers, and first-time buyers look to make their move into a Spitfire home.”

For more information visit: https://spitfirehomes.co.uk/find-your-home/clarendon/

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Work on the latest phase of a regeneration scheme in Sighthill is set to bring significant long-term investment to Glasgow with leading housebuilder, Keepmoat, committed to investing at least £15,000 per annum in community benefits over the next four years.

As the developer continues to deliver its transformative NorthBridge scheme, set to create more than 1,000 new homes, the community benefits initiative will invest in projects designed to enhance the lives of people living in Glasgow.

These initiatives include supporting community facilities, local charities, schools and facilitating a local skills hub to train young people in collaboration with Glasgow Clyde College.

The skills hub will enable young people across Glasgow to unlock apprenticeship and work experience opportunities, providing them with real life experience on the NorthBridge site alongside the delivery of a formal qualification with the college.

Allan Dickie, Curriculum Manager for Construction at Glasgow Clyde College explains: “We are excited to be part of this project with Keepmoat where our construction students visit the site weekly working on construction projects onsite provided by the team at NorthBridge.

“The project sees our construction students spend up to three days each week at the employer-funded hub on the live site, translating college theory into real-world practice and co-delivering community benefit projects. Four lecturers jointly timetable and assess learning alongside Keepmoat supervisors, while free under-21 bus travel keeps the model cost-neutral for learners.

“We continue to liaise with the Keepmoat team and aim to strengthen our links with them and their supply chain in the years to come.”

To demonstrate its commitment to the local community, Keepmoat also recently sponsored Glasgow City FC, donated to local charity PEEK to support children, young people and families in Glasgow and took part in a community litter pick.

To find out more, visit: www.keepmoat.com/northbridge

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Top 10 UK housebuilder, Keepmoat, has broken ground at the third phase of its Kingfields Park development in Hull, set to deliver 114 new homes.

The latest phase of the scheme represents an investment of more than £20 million from the housebuilder, which will add to the 476 homes already delivered across phase one and two.

Construction is now underway as Keepmoat continues its delivery of high-quality, energy-efficient homes alongside greenspaces, enhanced pedestrian routes and an investment into local infrastructure including school and NHS places.

Forming a significant part of the Hull Citywide Development Programme, Kingfields Park is creating a new, multi-tenure community in partnership with Hull City Council.

Ben Hindley, Land & Partnerships Director at Keepmoat, Yorkshire East said: “At Keepmoat, our vision is to build homes and create thriving communities. By prioritising partnerships we’re able to reflect the needs of the community across our developments.

“We’re thrilled to start on-site and continue Keepmoat’s major investment in Hull, bringing forward high-quality homes to support local housing needs and create a sustainable neighbourhood where people are proud to live.”

Keepmoat has a strong presence across Hull and East Yorkshire, most recently completing the transformation of the former Amy Johnson School into a 485-strong housing scheme, designed to create a vibrant and sustainable community.

For more information, visit: www.keepmoat.com

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Steve Skeldon, Above Ground Product Manager at Wavin, discusses why guttering plays a crucial role in preparing new homes for a rainier future.

We may have just emerged from one of the hottest summers on record, but it comes hand in hand with more rain. The Met Office’s most recent State of the Climate report revealed that rainfall between October and March in recent years has been 16% higher than the average. Climate change is making our weather more extreme at both ends of the scale, and it’s a trend that will only intensify in years to come.

Housebuilders and developers who are laying foundations now, need to anticipate how this pattern will continue to evolve to make sure future homes can stand up to a climate increasingly defined by extreme weather. Guttering is integral to how a property handles rainfall, so it can’t be an afterthought, and extreme weather means robust solutions are essential.

Handling it all

Everyone who has cleaned out a gutter in the winter knows it’s not just water that you’re dealing with. Stormy weather can blow leaves or other debris into gutters, leading to blockages that have the power to cause serious damage. A blocked gutter can cause rainwater to back up onto roofs and walls, increasing the risk of leaks or water damage that are both costly to repair. The right guttering system, designed to keep debris moving, can stop this problem at source and prevent homeowners from discovering the real meaning of a rainy-day fund.

While extreme rainfall is where good guttering really earns its keep, the arrival of longer dry spells in the summer also puts pressure on systems. High temperatures can cause them to expand, potentially compromising seals and clips used to hold them together. When its dry, this isn’t a problem, but droughts are often bookended by episodes of heavy rainfall and flash floods, and this is when we see leaks and other issues because of a guttering system that’s had too much sun. When specifying a drainage system, it’s worth looking for one that allows for maximum movement with changes in temperature. This means it should have a robust mechanism for coping with expansion and contraction, such as wide seals or clear markings on the fittings to aid installation.

Meeting the demand

Manufacturers are feeling the impact of more extreme weather in the requests we’re receiving from customers – developers are looking for more powerful guttering systems, and the sector is responding to meet that demand. There are several factors to consider when specifying guttering for a new home or development, including location, roof pitch and area, and rainfall levels, but as a rule we should expect more rain everywhere.

For residential and commercial properties alike, high-capacity systems are becoming the norm, and innovative product design and engineering are making systems, such as Wavin’s Osma StormLine and Osma DeepLine, more sophisticated as a result. StormLine has been designed with a higher front edge, upping its capacity, but also preventing overshooting rainwater and overflow in stormy conditions. Internal ribs also help the flow through of leaves and debris to prevent blockages. The whole of the Osma rainwater range features a hydrodynamic outlet, which can handle up. to 30% more rainwater than other competitive systems.

Manufacturers are also now designing guttering not just for rainy days, but for the whole year. Wide retained seals enable the gutter to expand and contract with temperature changes, preventing damage or displacement from the fitting and maintaining performance in extreme heat.

Improved performance shouldn’t come at the cost of aesthetics, and this is a key consideration for housebuilders who want to deliver kerb appeal. Systems such as Wavin Osma use concealed sockets to hide roughly cut downpipe ends and help installers maintain a clean aesthetic. The range of colours on offer is also expanding, as non-white fascias and softfits become more common on new builds and consumers’ appetite for variety increases – our Osma systems are available in up to five different colours.

Ready for anything

Extreme weather is here to stay, but it shouldn’t slow the pace of the housebuilding that the government and the construction industry are working to deliver. It does, however, mean everyone must think ahead on current and future projects as these homes will be faced with serious challenges from rainier winters and hotter summers.

Guttering is unlikely to be top of the list of considerations for new buyers, but a home that’s dry and not at risk of damp or leaks will be, and a robust and effective guttering system makes a significant difference here. Manufacturers are responding to demands from the climate and the industry with robust solutions, and that’s helping developers deliver homes that will stand up to the test of time. In a future-proof home, future-proof guttering is a no-brainer.

For more information on Osma rainwater drainage systems, please visit www.rdr.link/dbg035

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