Homes England were left impressed after visits to Calico Homes’ latest developments and properties across Burnley, including the £21 million Dovestone Gardens scheme at Burnley General Hospital.
Homes England is the non-departmental public body that funds new affordable housing and the visit marks a step forward in a partnership aiming to improving housing opportunities in Burnley.
Homes England representatives had the chance to see the progress of the developments up close and an insight into the work being carried out by Burnley-based construction firm, Ring Stones.
Calico Homes and Homes England are working in partnership to deliver projects across Burnley including Dovestone Gardens, the town’s first purpose-built extra care facility in which funding has been provided by Homes England. The development is set to be complete in August 2024 with 93 new apartments for people over 55 with extra support needs.
Calico Homes and Homes England are also working on the Kinross Street development which will see 61 new affordable homes built in South-West Burnley.
Visits were also made to other sites including recently completed developments, Tay Street and Sycamore Avenue. Part of the tour also included visits to houses which are part of Calico Homes’ empty homes scheme, a project which Calico Homes buys and renovates empty properties to improve communities across Burnley.
Wendy Malone, Director of Property at The Calico Group: ‘It was great to welcome Homes England to our sites across Burnley including Dovestone Gardens. We’re delighted with how impressed Homes England are with the quality of our developments and the atmosphere on our sites.
We’re happy with how our current developments are progressing and we are aiming to keep our partners and community involved throughout the process.’
Janine Matley, Manager, Provider Management at Homes England: “Visiting one of our Registered Providers, Calico, was a pleasure. We were shown around a mix of live and finished sites, varying from empty homes refurbishments to a mixed development of family homes.
A highlight was visiting what will be the first Extra Care scheme in East Lancashire, Dovestone Gardens, providing 93 1 and 2 bed apartments for the over 55s. I think what struck us all being on site was the real quality homes being produced and the friendly atmosphere from all the staff at Calico.
It was great to see all the hard work that goes into a scheme, meeting site staff and having the opportunity to see the tangible outputs from our Affordable Homes Programme. Thank you for having us, all at Calico.”
