Social homes back on track after £1m investment from Mayor’s housing funds

Work has restarted on a stalled social housing scheme in Walsall after a £1m investment from Mayor Richard Parker’s regional regeneration funds.  

The development, on the site of a former ‘eyesore’ scrap yard in Hollyhedge Lane, was halted more than 18 months ago after the constructor ran into financial difficulties, stopped work and entered administration shortly afterwards.

Whg, the long-term investor, social landlord and owner of the site, has now been able to appoint leading national house builder Lovell Partnerships to complete the development, following funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), which is chaired by the Mayor, and Homes England.

The scheme will offer 71 social rent homes owned and managed by whg, providing much needed affordable housing for local people.

The Mayor has put the construction of more social rent properties – the most affordable type of housing – at the heart of his ‘Homes for Everyone’ priority.  

He wants to see the West Midlands building 2,000 social rent homes every year by 2028 to help tackle the region’s affordable housing crisis.

The Mayor said: “Being unable to afford a safe, secure home blights lives and prevents people from achieving their full potential. 

“So, schemes like this one, that provide more social rent housing, are critical to getting people out of temporary accommodation and off waiting lists.  

“I’ve made the construction of more social rent housing a top priority because I’ve seen first-hand how it can change lives for the better by providing the springboard families need to get on in life.”

(l-r) Mayor Richard Parker with Gary Fulford, whg's group chief executive and Stuart Penn, Lovell's managing director central region, at the Lockside development in Walsall, the result of a previous collaboration between the three partners

The site had been mothballed since construction work halted in March 2024, and two of the three partially built apartment blocks will need to be demolished and rebuilt by Lovell Partnerships. The scheme is now expected to be completed by spring 2027. 

Rebecca Bennett Casserly, whg’s corporate director of development, said: “The construction of this scheme has been complex to bring back to site, and we’re grateful for the support of the WMCA, Homes England and Walsall Council in helping to overcome the challenges and move things forward.

“Restarting work means we can now focus on delivering high-quality, affordable homes that will make a real difference to people who need them most.”

Stuart Penn, regional managing director for Lovell, added: “This scheme is a prime example of why investing in long-term partnerships is essential to reaching regional housing targets.

“Having an already established relationship with whg and the WMCA has meant we’ve been able to work closely to reach a resolution that results in more high-quality, much needed housing being created in the area.

“Following extensive surveying of the original work undertaken, refining designs and costs and securing the current site, we’re ready to get started on the build. Now, we’re looking forward to working with the partners to bring this scheme to fruition.”

Latest figures for the region show more than 65,335 households on social housing waiting lists with 7,450 households, including 14,976 children, currently living in temporary accommodation.

To start tackling the issue, the Mayor is working to kickstart the biggest social housing programme the region has seen in decades.

His mission has won the support of government, which recently announced up to £1.7bn for the region’s 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme starting next April. That could see at least 10,000 affordable new homes built across the West Midlands over the coming decade.

And in October, the Mayor also announced his new £40m Social Housing Accelerator Fund, releasing extra money to be used for social rent properties by cutting red tape surrounding his existing housing funds. The money will be used to convert 1,000 properties that are ready for occupation, under construction or soon-to-be-built, over to social rent homes.

Those will be on top of over 750 social rent homes the Mayor has already unlocked since taking office in May last year as part of his ongoing ‘Homes for Everyone’ priority.