Covid delayed Blackburn housing development back on track

The £13million Covid-delayed second stage of a major Blackburn housing development is now back on the starting grid.

The plan to build new homes on the Griffin site in Mill Hill and Moorgate was first mooted in 2020 but stalled when the government scrapped the market housing renewal scheme.

It was revived in August 2018 with a proposal to build 137 two, three and four-bedroomed family properties but hit new problems when the coronavirus pandemic struck.

Great Places Housing Group and Seddon Construction built 56 of the new homes between 2019 and 2021 including 41 for affordable rent and 15 for shared ownership.

But the second phase of 81 houses was hit by the Covid pandemic and the need to compulsorily purchase three of the 165 substandard terraced properties earmarked for demolition from owners unwilling to sell.

In the meantime Blackburn with Darwen Council purchased the redundant Griffin Inn public house to allow quality new housing to be built with frontage onto Bank Top/Redlam.

Great Places original partner Seddon Construction then pulled out of the scheme but now the housing association has come to an agreement with McDermott Homes to deliver the remaining 81 homes for market sale and affordable rent/shared ownership.

There will be 56 for market sale and 25 for affordable rent and shared ownership.

Now Blackburn with Darwen Council’s growth boss Cllr Quesir Mahmood has approved the new Phase 2 scheme which is subject to the granting of planning permission and some capital grant support from the authority.

The land will be sold to the developers for a nominal sum but the scheme, which includes a new access roundabout in Redlam Brown, is expected to bring £13m of investment into the borough.

In a report to colleagues Cllr Mahmoods says: ” Great Places have now brought forward a new developer partner McDermott Homes to help deliver a scheme of 81 new homes for market sale and affordable rent/shared ownership.

” Since 2008 the Council has been actively purchasing properties by agreement in the Griffin clearance area.

“165 properties were identified for clearance with 162 having been purchased and majority demolished. The last three properties were successfully CPO’d in 2022 and are being prepared for demolition.

“The Griffin housing site had been identified as being suitable for the provision of good-quality two, three and four bedroom family homes.

“Seddon Construction and Great Places Housing Association were appointed to provide a scheme of mixed tenure homes on the clearance site in two phases.

“They commenced Phase 1 in late 2019 and soon got caught up in the Covid Pandemic.

“Due to the ongoing pandemic, state of the national housing market and the fact that Phase 2 still had three properties that needed acquiring, the two parties wished to take a break from commencing Phase 2.

“Further surveys were commissioned which uncovered additional problems.”