North East housebuilder Homes by Carlton is pushing ahead with its expansion strategy, refusing to allow the pandemic to hamper its ambitious investment plans.
The award-winning County Durham developer
is maximising the spike in housing demand by
bringing three new homes developments on
stream in County Durham and Tees Valley.
This is resulting in a growth in employment and
the support of a significant regional supply chain,
which is set to grow in 2021. This is happening
against a national backdrop of rising house prices
with the North East and Yorkshire showing some of
the largest growth rates in the country.
Spearheading the expansion for Homes by Carlton
is the £60m Middleton Waters site in the village
of Middleton St George, between Darlington and
Yarm. Construction started on site just prior to the
first covid-19 lockdown and has continued through
the year with the recent virtual opening of a show
home.
Simon Walker, MD of Homes by Carlton, said:
“We’re delighted to be rolling out our ambitious
plans in the North East. The lockdowns and
necessary social distancing on site have caused
some delays but this has been offset by the strong
demand we’re seeing.
“Despite the pandemic, we have a really buoyant
housing market. There is a real appetite for good
quality homes, particularly in desirable locations
such as Middleton St George and surrounding
villages.
“The Government recognises the value of the
housing and property sector in the UK, realising
it needs to remain open because it’s seen as a
powerful engine for the growth and well-being
of the economy. Stimulants like the stamp duty
holiday and the Help to Buy scheme have really
helped keep the housing sector moving this most
difficult year.”
Within weeks of the first release of 18 three and
four-bedroom properties at Middleton Waters
some 65 per cent were reserved off plan. Due to
such strong demand a second phase of new homes
for sale will be announced in the coming weeks.
Simon Walker explained: “We are delighted with
the interest Middleton Waters has generated to
date and the outstanding support of our sales and
marketing team.
“Demonstrating the quality of the homes to
potential buyers during a very challenging period
has required our teams to remain adaptable and
extremely well-coordinated throughout the whole
sales and customer journey.
“We now have a team of 20 at Homes by Carlton,
with plans to recruit a further 20 over the coming
years, taking our head count to 40. Plans are
already in place for further recruitment due to take
place in 2021.”
Middleton Waters, which will be developed in four
phases over several years and comprise around
200 luxury homes, is the largest of the current
developments by Homes by Carlton.
Elsewhere, the company has started work on
Thorpe Paddocks, an attractive site at Thorpe
Thewles, adjacent to Wynyard Woodland Park to
the west of Stockton on Tees and eight miles north
of Yarm. The site will include 31 three, four and fivebedroom family homes, specifically designed to be
in keeping with the character of Thorpe Thewles.
Already, the sales team has taken reservations on
10 of the first release of 15 properties at the luxury
development.
Homes by Carlton has also started work at The
Langtons development in the village of Redmarshall,
a short drive from Yarm, where 11 luxury, executive
homes are to be built. The construction team is
currently beginning infrastructure works.
Homes by Carlton – supported by regional
investment firm Growth Capital Ventures – has
20 potential sites in the pipeline at key locations
across the North East and Yorkshire, here more
than 1,000 new homes will be delivered over the
coming years
