A decade after work first began at a major mixed-use development in Shropshire, commercial property developer Henry Davidson Developments (HDD) has announced it has disposed of the final plot.

LNT Care Homes has purchased the key 1.2 acre plot at Lawley Village, Telford, and is expected to start construction of its 66-bed facility within the next few days.. The care home will  be operational in Q3 2018.

HDD commenced construction of the £30 million district centre development in 2007. The scheme comprises a 40,500 sq ft Morrisons supermarket, a children’s day nursery, a Marston’s Inns and Taverns public house and retail occupiers including Subway, Greggs and Barnardo’s. HDD has also delivered 23 apartments and 16 town houses, and an extra care facility for Sanctuary.

Scott Davidson, managing director of Birmingham-based HDD, said: “This has been a major commitment for us since work first started in 2007. It has been very successful and well received right from the start of our 10-year association with Lawley Village.

“To have sold the final plot to LNT Care Homes represents the very last piece of the jigsaw for us. We are very proud of the facilities we have provided for the people of Telford. The district centre is a great example of what we do well; developing great schemes which attract well known retailers and local businesses to ensure the community is well served.”

The Lawley Village site, located just off the M54 motorway, covers more than 330 acres of land. The entire project is expected to be completed in 2028, across 11 phases, with more than 3,500 homes and both primary and secondary schools. Telford & Wrekin Borough Council first approved plans for the £600 million development in 2005.

Plans to regenerate Newcastle-under-Lyme town centre in a bid to boost shopping and create hundreds of new jobs have been submitted.

The borough council says they include proposals for new shops, parking and student accommodation on the former Sainsbury’s site.

The plans, submitted by Henry Davidson Developments and U+I will see work begin in mid 2018.

As part of the scheme, council and police staff working in the current Civic Offices on Merrial Street will move to a new hub this autumn.

HDD are pleased to announce that a Care Home Operator has been secured, Ideal Carehomes, by LNT for the plot LNT purchased from HDD in 2016.

The new Care Home is under construction and sits next to HDD’s residential development in Mountsorrel.

http://www.idealcarehomes.co.uk/news/2017/07/20/ideal-carehomes-to-expand-portfolio-with-new-development-98

HDD are acting as Development Managers for U+I in the delivery of the Friarsgate scheme in Lichfield.

The property regeneration specialist, U+I, has announced that Friarsgate will feature Marks & Spencer, which will relocate its foodhall into a larger unit within the city centre development.        

This announcement follows the news that The Light Cinema will be opening a seven screen cinema, and the leading food chains Pizza Express, Zizzi, Le Bistrot Pierre, Patisserie Valerie and Starbucks, along with the clothing retailer, Seasalt, will also be setting up shop in the historic city.

Richard Upton, Deputy CEO of U+I, commented:-

“U+I is committed to creating great places and we know that Marks & Spencer is a popular brand with Lichfield shoppers. A larger store will bring even more of the leading retailer’s food range to the city, and will be able to serve even more customers. It is an exciting time for Lichfield, and I am confident that our investment in the city will generate new jobs and growth for the area, which has always been a key objective for the Friarsgate development.”

Rob Morray, Head of Property Planning at Marks & Spencer, said:-

“We’re really pleased that by moving to a larger store we’ll be able to offer our loyal customers a better in-store experience – with more products and a bigger team to serve them.”

Further top name retail lettings are also in the pipeline and these will be announced in the coming months.   In total, Friarsgate is expected to bring between 8 to 10 food and drink establishments and up to 25 shops, 82 apartments and 11 townhouses to the city centre.

The development will create a seamless link into Three Spires Shopping Centre and encourage increased footfall into the historic parts of the city centre.   The mix of uses is designed to increase retail activity and dwell time within the city. This in turn will help retain existing shoppers and also attract new shoppers and visitors, which will benefit the wider retail and leisure offer in Lichfield. This combination is expected to increase the city’s shopping turnover from £55m to £107m by 2022 and is forecast to create 660 new full-time equivalent jobs for the area.

Councillor Mike Wilcox, Leader of Lichfield District Council, said:-

“With every new letting that’s signed, the city gets closer to realising a scheme that will undoubtedly attract more visitors to Lichfield. With even more big names set to be announced soon, we’re pleased the development is progressing and plans are really taking shape.”

The development will also enhance transport connectivity to Lichfield, delivering a new bus station near to the railway station, as well as 475 safe and accessible car parking spaces. It will complement the existing retail, leisure and residential offering whilst preserving the historical and traditional feel of the city.   For more information about Friarsgate please visit www.visitfriarsgate.co.uk

HENRY DAVIDSON SECURES £2m INVESTMENT

 Company to set up new headquarters in central Birmingham:-

• Deal provides facility to invest equity in development opportunities

• Investment from Finance Birmingham’s £56 million Regional Mezzanine Fund – open to all SMEs in the West Midlands

Midlands-based property development company Henry Davidson Developments (HDD) has secured a £2 million investment from Finance Birmingham on behalf of the GBS LEP.

The business, which is currently based in Nottingham, is now set to relocate its head office to Birmingham city centre to deliver a range of projects across the West Midlands including the £80 million Lichfield Friarsgate town centre development and the £30 million mixed-used Lawley Village in Telford. This new base will enable it to expand, increasing their capacity to bid for and deliver more projects across the UK.  Founded in 1992, HDD (www.hddl.co.uk) are an experienced developer specializing in residential and retail led mixed use developments. These range from stand-alone residential schemes, to convenience stores at the heart of new residential communities, or to larger schemes anchored by a food store that serves a wide catchment area. With unrivalled knowledge of local markets, its record of delivery is second to none. HDD have successfully completed well over 65 retail-led developments across the UK and are arguably the UKs largest developer of local and district centres. Together, these projects have delivered over 750,000 sq. ft. of retail space and more than 350 homes for local people, alongside numerous community and leisure facilities. The combined development value of projects exceeds £350m.

Scott Davidson, Chief Executive of HDD, said: “We’re currently working on a number of exciting schemes across the UK and the investment from Finance Birmingham will help us to leverage the success of previous and current projects, helping the business to expand and ultimately accelerating our growth. We are close to securing premises in Central Birmingham and are looking forward to pursuing the next stage of growth from a Birmingham base”.

The funding has been provided by Finance Birmingham’s Regional Mezzanine Fund, open to any business across the West Midlands region, supported by the Regional Growth Fund on behalf of the GBS LEP.

Graham Mold, Investment Director at Finance Birmingham, said: “One of the objectives of Finance Birmingham’s Mezzanine Fund is to help provide liquidity to property development companies to accelerate their growth and this is exactly what we have done with HDD. Scott and the rest of the team at HDD have a fantastic track record and we are delighted to help them seize the many opportunities that they are seeing in a buoyant market”.