Author: Martin Driver

Sandway Homes, the Sefton Council-owned housing development company, has welcomed the confirmation of £3.15 million funding that will enable work to start on two brownfield sites.

Agreed on Friday (26^th November) by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority the £3.15 million comes from the from the Government’s Brownfield Land Fund. It will support the development of 150 new homes at Bentham’s Way, Southport and 63 new homes on the former site of Bootle High School.

In July, the Government’s Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities allocated £45m to the Combined Authority from its Brownfield Land Fund, which is designed to support the remediation of sites for development across the City Region. Remediation involves detecting and safely eradicating any hazards or contamination from sites that have previously had industrial or other uses.

Updated second phase

Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities said: “This confirmation of the funding by the Combined Authority is great news for Sefton.

“After negotiations with our partners, we are now in a position to ensure that Sefton continues to maximise access to funding to release further brownfield housing sites for delivery.

“I look forward to seeing the updated second phase of Sandway’s Business Plan for the development of these sites in the coming months, alongside the delivery of the 141 homes as part of Phase 1.”

Challenging

Louise Davies, Managing Director of Sandway Homes, said: “Targeting challenging brownfield sites for development, in locations where new homes are in high demand is an important part of Sandway’s business model, which complements other schemes being delivered across the Borough.

“Our successful applications for this Brownfield Land Fund support announced today means we will be able to progress these further sites and provide more local people with the affordable, high-quality homes they want.”

Transform

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has already awarded £1.05 million Brownfield Land Funding to Sandway’s Phase 1 development at Sefton Grange in Netherton.  Located near Buckley Hill Lane, this new development will transform the former Z Block site will provide 18 quality-built apartments and 55 attractive two-, three- and four-bed homes.

Following Sefton Council Cabinet approval of the disposal of three new sites for development, Sandway submitted the further application for this second round of Brownfield Land Funding for the Southport and Bootle High School sites.

Affordable housing

Subject to approval by the Combined Authority and further Business Case approval by Sefton Council, these two sites together with a third will bring the total number of houses to be delivered by Sandway as part of its Phase 2 plans to in the region of 350 new homes. All Sandway schemes will continue to include affordable housing as part of the mix, providing a combination of affordable rent, shared ownership and open market sales.

Wholly owned by Sefton Council, Sandway Homes was established in 2018. The company directly supports Sefton Council’s Vision 2030 commitment to create 11,000 new, high quality homes across the Borough by 2030.  In addition to the Sefton Grange, Sandway also has two other construction projects underway delivering 48 new homes at Sandy Brook, Ainsdale and 30 new homes in Barton’s Close, Crossens.

Prospective buyers can now see the range of properties under construction, which are already being bought off-plan, at www.sandwayhomes.co.uk. 

Sefton Council is the latest employer to sign up to the Dying to Work Voluntary Charter. The Charter is part of the TUC’s wider Dying to Work campaign and aims to give employees with terminal illnesses more choice in how to spend their final months and offers peace of mind around job security.

Dying to Work was taken forward by the TUC following the case of Jacci Woodcook, an area sales manager from Derbyshire who was forced out of her job after being diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. The TUC is asking employers to sign up to its voluntary charter to stop cases like Jacci’s happening in the future.

The charter was signed by Cllr. Paulette Lappin Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member – Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services, Mark Dale its Chief Personnel Officer, Will Paynter and Lisa Ryan (GMB), Glen Williams (Unison), Mark Magee (Unite) and a representative from the TUC at Bootle Town Hall on behalf of the Council and its 3,300-plus employees. Sefton Council follows in the footsteps of employers such as Royal Mail and Merseytravel, which mean that over a million employees across the UK are now protected.

Cllr. Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member – Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services, said:

“It’s really important that employees who are diagnosed with a terminal illness know they will be supported by the Council and not face any additional stress or worries. We already work really closely with GMB, Unison, Unite & the TUC, and by signing the Dying to Work Charter we are demonstrating our commitment to our hard-working, dedicated employees.”

Mark Dale, Chief Personnel Officer at Sefton Council said:

“The Council’s most valued asset is its staff and we are committed to supporting our colleagues and their families in whatever way we can.

“When dealing with a terminal illness, worrying about your job should be the least of your concerns and so we are proud to sign the Dying to Work charter, giving those affected the dignity and respect they deserve.

“We hope that other employers will follow our lead in supporting the TUC’s campaign.”

Lisa Ryan, GMB Regional Equality Officer said:

 “GMB are delighted Sefton Council have signed the TUC Dying to Work Charter, ensuring employees will be supported on diagnosis of a terminal illness without additional stress relating to their job security.”

TUC Midlands, Regional Secretary Lee Barron, said:

“Your job should be the least of your worries when you get a terminal diagnosis.

“I’m delighted that Sefton Council have shown real leadership in this area, working with unions to guarantee fair treatment for terminally-ill workers.

“We now have over a million workers being covered by the Dying to Work charter across the country, and we expect more employers to commit in the coming months.”

Employers looking to find out more information can head to www.dyingtowork.co.uk.