Work starts on new social rent homes as Mayor invests in the regeneration of Coventry estate

Construction has started on 257 affordable new homes as work on the regeneration of the Spon End estate in Coventry ramps up.

The milestone in the project, which will see around 750 homes built over the next 10 years, follows the announcement today of a £6.7m investment into the scheme by Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands.

The investment is part of the Mayor’s drive to build thousands more social rent homes - the most affordable type of housing.

Citizen is working in partnership with The Hill Group to deliver the first phase, which will include 209 social rent homes - the most affordable type of housing.

The project is also supported by Coventry City Council, Homes England and West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), which is chaired by the Mayor.

The Mayor said: “We must build more homes that are truly affordable, like these social rent properties at Spon End.

“I’ve seen how the lack of a safe, warm and secure home can blight people lives and hold them back from achieving their goals.

“I’m using the funds available to me to start tackling years of under investment in affordable homes so we can start fixing this housing crisis and change more local lives for the better.”

The Mayor also announced today that he was investing a further £2m into Citizen’s redevelopment of the Wyken estate in Coventry to provide a further 63 social rent homes.

Combined Homes England and the WMCA have invested £39,559,419 into this phase of the project to help deliver affordable homes in the area.

Director of Regeneration at Citizen, Kevin Roach, said: “It’s great to see work now underway at Spon End. This is a significant project for us and will make a real difference to the area.

“These new homes will provide warm, modern and energy‑efficient places, and it’s exciting to be one step closer to delivering them.

“We’re committed to investing in new homes, regeneration and renewal, and we’re looking forward to working with our partners as the transformation of the area take shape.”

The new development will also see an increase in the amount and quality of green space and will open up the area around the River Sherbourne.

So far at Spon End 158 homes have been demolished at Kerry House, Milestone House and Trafalgar House as part of phase one. The new homes which will be built on this site will be a mix of one and two bedroom flats. These are due to be completed for customers between late 2028 and mid 2029.

The redevelopment of Spon End will be completed in phases. Area three will see homes in Wellington Gardens, Sherbourne Street and Upper Spon Street demolished to make way for 493 new homes. Area two will see homes demolished at Spon Gate House, George Poole House, Givens House and the low-rise flats with around 500 new homes built on the site.

Citizen will be looking at which phase to develop next over the next 12 to 18 months.

Front left Cllr Councillor Naeem Akhtar, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at Coventry City Council gets construction underway alongside project partners